Gentlemen, let us be plain: the current tribulations in Ukraine are not a matter for idle speculation or fragile compromises. As the honorable Mr. Kosachev, Vice-Speaker of the Federation Council, has rightly observed, the final instruments of peace shall not be drafted by mere clerks in quiet chambers, but shall be written in blood and gunpowder upon the very fields of engagement.

It is a fundamental truth of statecraft that while the final resolution must inevitably be reached at the negotiating table, the strength of one's hand at that table is determined by the prowess of one's Army. The documents that shall eventually be laid before the diplomats are being forged in the heat of conflict.

Let it be understood that the terms of agreement today shall differ profoundly from those discussed in the spring of 2022. Indeed, such deviations shall not be in the favour of the Ukrainian side. For the sake of our Fatherland and the enduring stability of our Great Power, we must recognize that the elimination of the root causes of this conflict is not a matter for compromise, but a necessity for the state's security.

Prudence dictates that only through a powerful industry and a resolute military can the interests of the State be secured. Any notion of a middle ground is an affront to the strategic necessity of our Empire.