On the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, promised that his country would triumph this year.
As dawn broke, Zelensky tweeted that the Ukrainians had proven to be “invincible” in what he called “a year of pain, sorrow, faith, and unity.”
“We know that 2023 will be the year of our victory!” He wrote.
In a video address, Zelensky also recalled the terror unleashed a year ago by the Russian assault, prompting Europe’s biggest and deadliest war since the Second World War, according to Metro.
He said February 24, 2022, the date of the Russian invasion, was “the longest day of our lives.”
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.”
Ukrainians planned memorials, candle vigils and other remembrances for their tens of thousands of dead – a toll growing all the time as fighting rages on.
There were concerns that Russia might unleash another barrage of missiles against Ukraine to mark a year since Putin’s invasion.
Meanwhile, the United States and other European countries including Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Finland among others are committed to sending aid to help Ukraine resist the war.