President’s message at event on Remembrance and Gratitude Day

Dear veterans,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Today we mark Remembrance and Gratitude Day – the day on which we bow our heads in thought before those who, in 1992, defended the sovereignty and independence of the Republic of Moldova.

It is a day of pain and of dignity.

It is a day when we remember not only the deeds of those who fought, but above all the sacrifice they made.

Because freedom came at a heavy price. For it, hundreds of people gave their lives. Tens of thousands of others put their health, their future, and the peace of their loved ones at risk.

Behind every name engraved on a cross stands a life cut short too soon. Behind every veteran stands a story of courage, of devotion to the land inherited from our forebears.

Commemorating the heroes of the war on the Dniester reminds us that freedom is not something given. It must be protected.

For decades, our freedom was strangled. Our language and traditions were marginalized. Our destiny was decided elsewhere. And Moldovans finally wanted to decide their own future. They wanted to live in a state where their voice matters.

Those who defended their country on the front line understand best how precious freedom is. That is why you, the veterans, have been – throughout all the years of independence, and still are today – on the front line of defending democracy. We owe you respect.

And we owe you gratitude. Today, more than three decades after those events, our peace and freedom are once again under threat – and they are being defended, including for us, by Ukrainians on the battlefield. We must call things by their name. In war, the aggressor is the one who attacks. In 1992, the aggressor was Russia.

Today, in Ukraine, the aggressor is Russia. Saying that “both sides are to blame” means falsifying the truth. Moral neutrality in the face of aggression means not only cowardice, but also a lie. And solidarity among peoples that have known aggression is a duty. The Republic of Moldova has not coveted foreign territories. It has not started wars. It has only defended its ancestral land. And even today, the aggression against our country has not disappeared. Only the methods have changed.

If in 1992 the aggression came with tanks, today it comes through propaganda, manipulation, and disinformation. We are living through a veritable cognitive war – a war that targets memory and identity. A war that tries to blur responsibility, to confuse the aggressor with the victim. That is why the defense of memory must be part of national defense.

Because the Remembrance and Gratitude Day is not only about the past. It is also about the future. It is about the values that define us. It is about our attachment to freedom, democracy, and peace. It is about our rightful place in the family of European states that cherish human dignity and the common good. Knowledge of history and of the sacrifices of our forebears is a condition for a strong state. Without memory, there is no identity. Without identity, there is no resilience. Without resilience, there is no security.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The Republic of Moldova does not want war. The Republic of Moldova wants peace. And true peace cannot be built on lies. Nor can it be built with foreign troops on our territory. We firmly demand the withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of the Republic of Moldova.

1992 events demonstrated our character and our will to live in freedom. They showed that, when freedom is in danger, Moldovans know how to rise. And it is our sacred duty to continue what the heroes of those days began. To strengthen democracy, to reinforce state institutions, in order to ensure the security of our citizens and to build a European Moldova – strong and prosperous.

And, in the name of those who fell and those who fought, we undertake to keep the flame of freedom alive. Every single day. Thank you.