Golden Globe Awards 2023: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky gives a message of peace. Read full speech here
"There will be no World War III arising out from the conflict. It is not a trilogy," said Volodymyr Zelensky.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskymade an appearance during the Golden Globe Awards 2023 through a pre-recorded video message. Noted actor and Zelensky's friend Sean Penn introduced his appearance on the stage at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California. Zelensky, who has won praise for his leadership during the Russian invasion of his country, said in his “special message of peace”, "The war in Ukraine is not over yet. But the tide is turning, and it is already clear who would win. There are still battles and tears. Now I can definitely tell you who was the best in the previous year: it was you. The free people of the free world. Those who united around the support of free Ukrainian people, in our common struggle for freedom, for democracy, for the right to live and to laugh — no matter who you are, no matter where you are from.
Zelensky added that the struggle was in part “the right of the new generations to know about the war only from movies. "There will be no World War III arising out from the conflict. It is not a trilogy. Ukraine will stop the Russian aggression on our land.” Zelensky, who was also an actor and a comedian before he made his entry into politics, has tried to use American award shows to garner a platform to communicate with US public. His team had lobbied to gain him a slot in the Oscars last year, but failed. Penn had called for a boycott of the Oscars if Zelensky was not allowed to speak. Zelensky was not in the end a part of the ceremony, but Penn handed two of his own Oscars to him as a solidarity gesture, asking him to bring them back to Malibu when Ukraine wins.