Volodymyr Zelensky today marked the anniversary of Russia’s barbaric invasion with a sombre message of defiance as he vowed to bring Russian ‘murderers’ to justice.
As dawn broke on a day of commemorations, the Ukrainian president hailed his nation for fighting back against Vladimir Putin’s troops during ‘a year of pain, sorrow, faith and unity’.
In an emotional video address, he said: ‘We have endured. We were not defeated. And we will do everything to gain victory this year.’
Hailing cities such as Bucha, Irpin and Mariupol as ‘capitals of invincibility’, he added: ‘Ukraine has inspired the world. Ukraine has united the world…
‘We will never rest until the Russian murderers face deserved punishment.’
Speaking about February 24, 2022, the date of the Russian invasion, Mr Zelensky said: ‘We survived the first day of the full-scale war. We didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, but we clearly understood that for each tomorrow, you need to fight. And we fought.
‘It was the longest day of our lives. The hardest day of our modern history. We woke up early and haven’t fallen asleep since.’
On the first anniversary of the invasion, Ukrainians planned memorials and candle vigils for their tens of thousands of dead – a toll that continues to grow as fighting rages in eastern Ukraine.
However former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev today vowed Russia would win the war and was ready to fight up to Poland’s borders if needed to counter ‘threats’.
