Encouragement for Students During War

Against the backdrop of this basement,

because

it is exploding very loudly outside, I want

to address schoolchildren.

Many of you see the war,

thank God, on television. Some experience it

in their towns and villages. Every day, you see our cities being shelled.

I want to ask one thing of you: study.

Study history so you do not re— do not repeat the mistakes

of our grandfathers, great-grandfathers, and your parents.

Study literature so that you know how beautiful

the Ukrainian language is

and its writers, whom they simply wanted

to forget and consign to oblivion.

That Ukrainian literature is not just longing for the homeland, but

is about heroism,

betrayal, love, and genuine feelings.

What you have already begun to comprehend. Study

mathematics, because it is the queen of sciences.

And it is you who, thanks to your knowledge

mathematicians, chemists, physicists will have to rebuild this

country

and make it one

you can pass on to your children.

I urge you, this is your

front and your work. Don't forget that.

And knowing that our generation

is trying to learn as best it can even in these difficult conditions, when you

quite often have no access to schools,

I ask you,

make us proud of you, because we are fighting

first and foremost for your future.