Zelenskyy: Doomed to crawl, they will not even take Zmiinyi away from those born to fly

Friday, 8 July 2022,  00:26

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has recorded a one-minute video in which he noted that it was the Ukrainians who were destined to "defeat the dragon that makes half the world tremble", referring to Russia.

Source: Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Instagram

Quote: "It has not been easy for us to get to sleep for the last 134 days, but over all these days we know why we wake up for and for whom. And most importantly who we are. We Ukrainians are simply people,who are kind and peaceful. We did not long to be in world news headlines and to be superheroes at such a price. All we wanted was to simply live, freely, on our own land.

But God has a plan. And if we were destined to defeat the dragon that makes half of the world tremble, and we were meant to be the underdog who had been given 3 days to last, but instead kept fighting for the fifth month —  well, then we, ….this must not be in vain ... it was meant to be us. It means that we’re the ones who can do it.

And the one doomed to crawl will even fail to take away Zmiinyi [(Snake) Island] away from those who were born to fly. That is why the blue-and-yellow [Ukrainian national flag - ed.] is back on the island. And one day it will certainly be back on the peninsula, and in all our occupied cities and villages, and our anthem will be heard in each of them."

Background:

• On 30 June, the Russians fled Zmiinyi Island after strikes by Ukrainian troops, but called it a "gesture of goodwill".

On 7 July, the Ukrainian military returned the Ukrainian flag to Zmiinyi Island, which had been under the control of Russian troops for several months.