Some choice quotes from Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's press conference today in Kyiv:
"Our internal challenges are no less dangerous than the threats we face from the east. Corruption, poverty, economic backwardness -- these are the most challenging threats to us and they are the strongest allies of terrorists and interventionists who are now in the trenches in the east, because they have been fighting against us not only for Donbas -- the scum who remain there have a completely different goal: to destroy our country and to prevent us from standing up straight on our own so that we could be a successful example worth emulating."
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"A long period of stable and prosperous life has weakened Europe. It has created an illusion of an eternal and durable peace propped up by European values that presumably have taken hold on the entire space from Lisbon to Vladivostok without exemptions. This peace, as it turned out, was very fragile, the structure that supported it unreliable, and security is no longer taken for granted by anyone."
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"Today, our eastern border is where the front line for united Europe lies. This is why the support for Ukraine from the world's democratic countries and nations is so strong, as is the understanding that our courageous victory will be a victory for all of Europe."
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"Our plan is clearly called Strategy 2020, for only reforms can uplift the country that is unable to respond to the needs of its citizens with a total collapse being the only available alternative. Only reforms can meet revolutionary expectations of Ukrainian citizens -- the driving, active part of our society -- with powerful wave of protests being the only available alternative. Only reforms can be the answer to our potential international investors and the only available alternative to that is staying one-on-one with Russia."
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"In order to persevere, we need to break our neo-feudalistic political model, dismantle the mechanism that enabled a small circle of oligarchs and corrupt bureaucrats to make a fortune from privatizing the entire country, gutting it and tossing it to bleed. We are obliged to create a society where order prevails."
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"I have no doubt that the main and most dangerous part of war is already behind us thanks to the heroism of Ukrainian soldiers and officers, which is the reason why changes cannot be delayed, because a week and incapable country is quick to lose and defense needs can only be met by a strong and robust economy."
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"Reforms need to be systematic and affect all political, economic, and social institutions at the same time. Strategy 2020 contains over 60 reforms. These 60 reforms and special programs must be launched simultaneously."
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"I am not bothered by who is against the reforms. The fact that the Ukrainian people stand behind these reforms is of principle importance for me because it means that we are invincible."
VIDEO: Poroshenko says his country is facing threats to its existence. At a news conference in Kyiv today, he said that severe economic problems help the cause of pro-Russian separatists who want to bring about the destruction of the country:
"The Ukrainian crisis is not solely a conflict between two countries. It is not even solely an European issue. If instead of agreements and laws, raw, brutal force will apply in international relations; if changing state borders by force will become an accepted norm, then the stability of the whole world is threatened."