Zelensky: Those who chanted "one nation" mantra never expected such strong rebuff
This was stated by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in a video address to the nation, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
"We do not retreat when the occupiers open fire and try to disperse crowds. You do not retreat, we do not retreat! And the one who repeated ‘we are one people’ certainly did not expect such a powerful reaction," said the head of state.
"In the southern part of our country, such a massive national movement has unfolded, such a powerful manifestation of Ukrainianhood, which we have never seen in our streets and squares, and which is like a nightmare for Russia," the president said, impressed.
According to the Ukrainian leader, the Russians have forgotten that Ukrainians are not afraid of paddy wagons, tanks, and automatic rifles because the main thing playing on our side now is the truth. And the same kind of distinction was shown by all Ukrainian cities: Mariupol and Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Sumy, Odesa and Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Zhytomyr and Korosten, Ovruch and many others.
"We know that the hatred that the enemy brought along with their shelling and bombing of our beautiful cities will not stay there. There will be no trace of it. Hatred is not about us. Therefore, there will be no trace of the enemy left," Zelensky said.
He also stressed that Ukraine would rebuild everything that’s been destroyed and damaged and make its cities better than any city in Russia.
The president also thanked the defenders of Enerhodar and Chernobyl, satellite towns home to personnel of nuclear power plants, for their resilience. "Barbarians simply fail to understand what they want to capture, what they seek to control. Your diligent work at critical facilities is a real feat, and we see it. We are sincerely grateful for this," he said.
The president also expressed gratitude to the Ukrainian Army, which is courageously holding its ground. "Well done! They inflict extremely painful losses on the enemy, defending, counterattacking, and, if necessary, taking revenge. For every evil, for every bomb and missile, for every destroyed civilian site," he said.
On February 24, Russian President Putin launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops are shelling and destroying infrastructure, conducting massive shelling of residential areas of Ukrainian cities and towns using artillery, MLR systems, and ballistic missiles.
Ukraine has officially filed a lawsuit against the Russian Federation with the UN International Criminal Court in The Hague.
