Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky stressed on Monday that the country «will overcome everything» and «will survive» until it will be able to celebrate «Victory Day» in a Kiev and Ukraine «in peace» amid the military offensive unleashed by Russia on February 24.
Zelensky gave a speech on the occasion of the Day of Dignity and Freedom in which he stressed that the Russian invasion has changed «many things», both in Ukraine and «in Europe and the rest of the world». «Something unchanged, which is the answer to the question of what Ukrainians are and what is important for us.»
«Those things are dignity and freedom,» he has stated. «We have always valued them and we are not afraid to defend them. We have always known what we wanted and this year everyone has realized what we are capable of. Friends and enemies have seen it. Allies and partners. We ourselves have seen it,» he extolled.
«Everyone has seen what defenders we have. We have held out against one of the largest armies in the world and have become one of the best armies in the world,» Zelenski noted, adding that «hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians» have stood «shoulder to shoulder» to achieve «the dream of a free Ukraine forever.»
In this line, the Ukrainian president has further stressed that «the whole world has seen what Ukrainian civilians are capable of». «How to become a living wall in the way of the military columns of the occupier (…), to go to demonstrations under occupation despite gunfire and stun grenades,» he explained.
«We are ready to give every last thing we have to make the Ukrainian warrior look decent, fight decently and win decently», he has indicated, before giving as an example «a famous model who cooks for warriors and fighters» and «a TV presenter who prepares a ‘Bandera milkshake'», in reference to Stepan Bandera.
Bandera is considered as an icon by Svoboda and Right Front, of fascist and racist dyes, who defend that he was a nationalist figure, after asking in 1941 to the population to «help» the Army of Nazi Germany «to overthrow Moscow and Bolshevism».
«We can run out of money, gasoline, hot water, light, but not freedom. That does not change. We have paid and continue to pay a very high price for freedom and we will never forget those who gave their lives for Ukraine. We will never forget those who took away their lives and wanted to take away our freedom, but the main thing is that no one has succeeded and no one will succeed,» he remarked.
ABOUT 85,000 RUSSIAN SOLDIERS KILLED On the other hand, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army said on Monday that 390 Russian servicemen have died in combat over the past day, bringing the total number since the beginning of the invasion to «about 84,600».
Thus, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have pointed out that 2,892 tanks, 1,870 artillery systems, 209 anti-aircraft systems and 5,822 self-propelled and armored multiple rocket launchers have also been destroyed.
In addition, they have stated that 278 aircraft, 261 helicopters, 1,537 drones, 480 cruise missiles, 16 ships, 4,378 vehicles and fuel tanks and 161 pieces of special equipment have also been destroyed. «The data is being updated. Beat the occupier. Let’s win together. Our strength is in the truth,» the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army has settled in a message posted on its account on the social network Facebook.
