“Hello. Thank you very much for allowing me to speak to you today. (…) You have probably received this terrible news. I was thinking: Should I really speak to you now? Or should I fly back to my children? And then I asked myself: What would Alexei have done? In my place? And I’m absolutely sure he would have stayed here. He would have spoken to you from this place.
I don’t know: Should we believe this terrible news we heard? I have to say that we got this news from the official media. But for many years – and of course you know this too – we have not been able to believe Putin and his government. They lie incessantly.
But if it is actually true, then I want Putin and those around him, Putin’s friends, his government to know that they have to answer. For what they did to our country, my family and my husband. And that day will come soon.
I want to call on the entire international community, all those in the world who are listening now, to stand together and defeat this evil, this terrible regime that rules Russia today. This regime and Vladimir Putin personally should be held accountable for all these atrocities that they have committed in recent years in my country, in our country Russia. Thank you.”