Zelenskyy’s remarks came as Ukraine celebrated its 31st Independence Day amidst fear of renewed Russian attacks. The day also marks 6 months of Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The President of Ukraine – Volodymyr Zelenskyy, vowed to fight Russia’s invasion until the end and not make any concession or compromise.
His remarks came as Ukraine celebrated its 31st Independence Day amidst fear of renewed Russian attack on civilian and Government infrastructure. The day also marks 6 months of Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Addressing the nation, Zelenskyy said, “A new nation emerged on February 24 at 4 a.m. Not born, but reborn. A nation that didn’t cry, didn’t scream, didn’t get scared. Didn’t run away. Didn’t give up. Didn’t forget,” Zelensky said Wednesday.”
He further said, “Every new day is a new reason not to give up. Because, having gone through so much, we have no right not to reach the end. What is the end of the war for us? We used to say: Peace. Now we say: Victory.”
Zelenskyy delivered his speech wearing combat fatigues in front of Central Kyiv’s towering monument to Independence from the Russian-dominated Soviet Union that broke up in 1991.
He also said, “We will not sit down at the negotiating table out of fear, with a gun pointed at our heads. For us, the most terrible iron is not missiles, aircraft and tanks, but shackles. Not trenches, but fetters.”
Taking it to twitter, Zelenskyy tweeted,
The history of Ukraine's independence is quite dramatic and inspiring. Ukrainian nation was fighting for centuries and continues to do so since Feb 24. Devotion, bravery, freedom. Our land – our independence. Brief historic update by @United24media: https://t.co/l66r5QYI6B. pic.twitter.com/W68zn4wvtB
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 24, 2022
He also promised to take back the lost territory in the industrial Donbas region in the East as well as the peninsula of Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. Zelenskyy said that the Russian invasion unified Ukraine.
The Government has also banned the Independence Day celebrations owing to the Russian threat of new missile attacks on major cities. The authorities have also banned large-scale gatherings until Thursday, i.e., August 25, 2022. However, a small number of residents gathered in Kyiv’s central square, where destroyed Russian tanks and mobile artillery were put on display over the weekend, and the national anthem is played every day.
As of now, Biden administration has provided about U.S. $ 10.6 billion in military aid to Ukraine. The President of the U.S. – Joe Biden has announced the biggest tranche of security assistance to date for Ukraine, about U.S. $ 2.98 billion in weapons and equipment. The U.S. said this will allow Ukraine to acquire air defense systems, artillery systems and munitions, counter-unmanned aerial systems and radars to ensure it can continue to defend itself over the long term.
As per United Nations (U.N.) High Commissioner for Refugees, a total of 6,657,918 refugees from Ukraine have been recorded across Europe. Millions of people have been uprooted from their homes in Ukraine and are in need of humanitarian assistance, in what has become the largest and fastest displacement crisis since World War II.
The UN estimate of refugees in Europe includes the sum of registrations for temporary protection or a similar national protection scheme and the number of asylum applications lodged by refugees from Ukraine.
