President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy recorded an address on the occasion of the Day of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy"6 December. Seven in the morning. Day of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Day of the strong. Day of the brave. The day of the unbreakable. Men and women. Warriors. Heroes.
All those who continue to defend the state. And all those who gave their lives to keep Ukraine safe. And right now I am going to the Wall of their memory. Many people know where it is, many have been there. But those who have not been there yet should go. To see the faces of our heroes. To look into their eyes. And just be silent. And in this silence to think. To remember. To realise. To compare this morning with the morning 651 days ago. It was so loud. And many people were afraid. But fear lost. And now everyone has heard about us. How hard it was then and how not ashamed we are now.
Remembering what we could have lost and what we saved. Knowing thanks to whom exactly. And for the sake of what exactly. Knowing what we are all defending. We are protecting our own. We are protecting ours.
And today, most of us have the opportunity to live and work in our cities. To walk our streets. Not Kirov, by the way, but Hrushevsky. Yes. For almost two years now, there have been checkpoints and fortifications here. Hedgehogs. But our hedgehogs, not someone else's jackals.
Those who naively believed that it could be different. That three days would be enough, that it would be their way. But we have those who have proven and are proving that it will be our way. They prove it every day. Those who are fighting for our freedom. On the front line, in the trenches, tanks, planes. In all branches of our armed forces, in all our brigades. In our east, in our south, in our north. All over our Ukraine. Who are fighting at the front and defending our peaceful regions.
And now I am walking in the capital of our beautiful country, not in someone's province within someone's empire. I am walking from the Office of the President of Ukraine, not someone else's gauleiter. Ahead of us is the European Square, where our blue and yellow flags are, not tricolours. Ahead of us is Volodymyr's Hill. In honour of our great prince, not their petty tsar.
And moments like this inspire a lot of thoughts, and you draw a lot of conclusions. You remember what is behind us and know what is ahead. Behind us is the daily struggle for the temporarily occupied territories. The liberation of these territories is ahead. How could it be otherwise? These are our lands, these are our people. Is there an alternative? No, there is not. Nine years and 651 days of war are behind us. Victory is ahead. How could it be otherwise? Is there any alternative? We all know there is not.
And here we see the beautiful Dynamo Stadium nearby. And one day, fans will return here and to all stadiums in Ukraine. Thousands of them are now in the ranks of the Armed Forces. They are fighting for our country. Like everyone who did not allow the occupier to parade here. And that's why there are monuments to ours nearby. To our Chornovil. Our Lobanovsky... Monuments to our prominent figures.
It's a little cold outside, but I feel warm in my heart. And it's slippery, but I know we'll make it. In every sense. Because I know that we are actually walking together. It was hard, but we survived. Now it is not easy, but we are moving. No matter how difficult it is, we will get there. To our borders, to our people. To our peace. A just peace. A free world. Against all odds. Together with you. And thanks to you, our people, our Armed Forces of Ukraine.
I congratulate all of you on your professional holiday.
Today there is only one word - "well done". There is only one emotion - gratitude. And only one wish - to win. Commanders, please take care of your soldiers. Take care of yourself, be yourself. I congratulate you on the Day of the Armed Forces of Ukraine!
And let us remember: St Nicholas the Wonderworker will come to those who behaved well. The Armed Forces will come to those who behaved badly. The creators of justice.
Well... I'm almost there, in a few minutes the Wall of Remembrance will be there. The wall of memory of our heroes. I am sure that it will be a reminder for each of us and will serve as a wall for our spirit. A wall that will not be overcome or breached by fear, despair, despondency, discord, or thoughts of giving up. We are strong. We are the wall. We are standing.
To protect our land. To protect our people. To win the victory. Glory to all our soldiers, glory to our Armed Forces! Glory to Ukraine!" Zelenskyy was quoted as saying on the President's website.
