“It was a year of pain, sadness, faith and unity”: Zelensky marked the first anniversary of the war

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday marked the anniversary of the invasion of Russia with an address to Ukrainians, in which he called the last 12 months “a year of pain, sadness, faith and unity.”

“On February 24, millions of us made a choice. Not a white flag, but a blue and yellow flag. [da Ucrânia]. Don’t run away, but collide. Resist the enemy. Resist and fight,” he added.

The Ukrainian leader stressed that “it was a year of pain, sadness, faith and unity.”

“And this is the year of our invincibility, we know that this will be the year of our victory,” Zelensky stressed in a video message published on the Telegram messenger.

The President of Ukraine also turned to Twitter to send a message to the world. “We know that 2023 will be the year of our victory,” Zelensky wrote on the social network.

In another post, also published on his website this Friday, the official said he met with senior army officials to discuss the country’s weapons production.

“We considered the issue of production and supply of ammunition and weapons. Of course, I cannot publicly disclose the details of this matter. But it’s a significant job. And I was pleased to hear at the meeting of the military command that even in these conditions we have the appropriate potential,” he stressed.

Russia started the war against Ukraine on February 24, 2022 with a large-scale invasion, having previously concentrated thousands of troops along the borders with a neighboring country.

The number of civilian and military casualties is unknown, but several sources, including the UN, have acknowledged that it will be significantly higher.

In late September, Russia formalized the annexation of Kherson, Zaporozhye, Donetsk and Luhansk regions into domestic law after doing the same with Crimea in 2014.

Neither Kyiv nor the international community as a whole recognize Russian authority in the five annexed regions.