"We do not believe that Russia will hesitate to return": Zelenskyy delivers address on Statehood Day

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, has delivered an address on the Day of Ukrainian Statehood near St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv and awarded Ukrainian defenders.

Source: broadcast of the event on the air of the national 24/7 newscast

Quote: "Today, we celebrate the Statehood Day – for the second time in conditions of a full-scale war. We all aspire that next year we celebrate this day the same way, in the free capital, but already with victory.

... The more than thousand-year history of our statehood suggests it is necessary to win. Not to stop, but to win, not to bargain, but to win, not to rely on the vagaries of fate, but to win and build such a strong state that its potential and ability to defend itself, the faith of our people in themselves, weapons in the hands of Ukrainians and the unity of all together in the state guarantee the preservation of Ukraine's statehood and the non-repetition of aggression against our state.

We do not believe that Russia will hesitate to return with aggression even after we expel the invaders from all of our land. But the victory of Ukraine can and should be such that any attempts of the enemy to return do not go beyond the sick fantasy of those madmen who harbour such plans. Our statehood is our answer to the need for security and peace for Ukraine. Statehood, which is difficult to defend but even more difficult to return if lost. It is never just a given. It is the result of service and work for Ukraine.

Statehood, which someone can perceive only as earning or chasing power, their ambitions, and others [take it as something] strong and pure -– statehood becomes the highest sacrifice; [it is embodied in] the life that our heroes give for the sake of all of us, for the sake of Ukraine's freedom."

Details: The event was also attended by Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine; Ruslan Stefanchuk, Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s Parliament) Speaker; Denys Shmyhal, Prime Minister of Ukraine; Oleksii Reznikov, Minister of Defence; Ihor Klymenko, Interior Minister; Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine; Oleksii Danilov, Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council; and Andrii Yermak, Head of the Ukrainian President's Office.

Zelenskyy also awarded Ukrainian defenders during the event.

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