In an emotional Independence Day video message, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy paid gratitude to Ukrainians helping the war effort and claimed that the country was “reborn” on the day that Russia invaded.
Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union is commemorated on August 24; also, it is the day that precisely six months have passed since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Speaking in an emotional video on Wednesday, Zelensky reminisced back to Feb. 24, when he said Ukrainians had to “prove our words with deeds.”
“On this day, the second all-Ukrainian referendum actually took place. Again — the main question. Again — a decisive choice. But this time it was necessary to say “yes” to independence not in the ballot, but in the soul and conscience,” he said.
“A new nation that emerged on Feb. 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 paid tribute to Ukrainians celebrating Independence Day, listing the various ways they have mobilized to assist their country from fighting on the front lines to raising funds for the war effort.
He spoke to the lengthy nature of the war, remarking that Ukraine has been “holding on for six months.”
“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,” he said.
“What is the end of the war for us? We used to say: peace. Now we say: victory.”
Zelensky then ended his address by vowing to restore Ukrainian rule in Crimea — which was annexed by Russia in 2014 — and the Russian-occupied Donbas region “whatever the path may be”
