Kyiv. In a speech marking the anniversary of Russia’s invasion on 24 February 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared that Vladimir Putin had failed in his aims and had not broken the Ukrainian nation. The war, he said, had not delivered the victory the Kremlin sought. Kyiv had preserved its statehood and would continue to work towards a ‘strong, dignified, and lasting peace’ that would also ensure justice.
‘Only by visiting Ukraine and seeing our lives and struggles with your own eyes (…) can you understand what this war is really about,’ Zelenskyy said on Tuesday, as he invited US President Donald Trump to Kyiv.
The Ukrainian leader also revealed the interior of the bunker from which he calls world leaders and conducts his daily military briefings.
‘Our people did not raise the white flag – they defended the blue and yellow. And the occupiers, who thought they would be greeted by crowds waving flowers, instead saw queues outside recruitment centres. Our people chose to resist,’ he recalled of the first days of the war.
Zelenskyy also criticised attacks on civilian facilities. ‘Men don't fight like this. People don't behave like this. Ukrainians will not forget this. Let everyone who has no remorse, everyone who still shakes hands with Russian evil and still buys Putin's oil, see these images.’
The president added that Ukraine is facing ‘the hardest winter in history’, but that ‘spring is less than a week away’.
(reuters, est)