"Ukraine has come as a surprise to the world. Ukraine has inspired the world. Ukraine has united the world," President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed Ukrainians on the first anniversary of the full-scale invasion
February 24 is the most difficult day in our modern history.
Our faith has grown stronger. Our spirit has grown stronger. We survived the first day of the full-scale war. We didn't know what would happen the next day, but we knew for sure that we had to fight for every tomorrow!
And we did fight. We fought for every day. And we survived the second day. And then the third. Three days that we were given to live. They threatened that in 72 hours, we would not exist. But we survived on the fourth day. And then on the fifth. And today, we have been standing for exactly one year. And we still know that we have to fight for every tomorrow.
And then came spring. New attacks, new wounds, new pain. Everyone saw the real nature of our enemy. We saw the shelling of a maternity hospital, a drama theatre in Mariupol, Mykolaiv Regional State Administration, Svobodа Square in Kharkiv, and the train station in Kramatorsk. We saw Bucha, Irpin, and Borodіanka. The whole world clearly realised what the "Russian world" is all about. What Russia is capable of.
We suffered new blows every day and learned about new tragedies every day, but we survived thanks to those who gave their best every day. For the sake of others.
And then there were the first offensives, the first achievements, the first liberated territories. The first and not the last Chornobaivka. Expulsion of the occupiers from Kyiv, Sumy, and Chernihiv regions. Our Stuhna. Our Vilkha. Our Neptune and the cruiser Moskva, which sinks.
Nine years ago, a neighbour became an aggressor. A year ago, the aggressor became a torturer, looter and terrorist. We have no doubt that they will be held accountable. We have no doubt that victory awaits us.
In the summer, we felt it. We have passed 100 days of the war. We received EU candidate status, regained Zmiinyi, heard the first "cotton" in Crimea, and saw "fireworks" at the occupier's warehouses and Antonivskyi Bridge.
August was the first month when the occupiers did not take a single Ukrainian city.
And then came the fall. And our counteroffensive. The liberation of Izium, Balakliіa, Kupiansk, Lyman, the Kherson region and the city of Kherson.
Despite constant massive missile attacks and power outages, we see the light of this victory.
It was a year of resilience. A year of not being indifferent. A year of courage. A year of pain. A year of hope. A year of endurance. A year of unity.
A year of invincibility. The fierce year of invincibility.
Its main result is that we have survived. We have not been defeated. And we will do everything to win this year!
