hirty-five years since the Act of Declaration of Independence of our state, independence of Ukraine was adopted. Before that, many did not believe that Ukraine would become independent. At the time, the world’s most capable intelligence services did not give their presidents, their leaders, a confident assessment that Ukraine would truly become independent. But Ukrainians restored the independence of their country.

On the occasion of Independence Day, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and First Lady Olena Zelenska took part in a prayer for Ukraine held at St. Sophia Cathedral.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Olena Zelenska walked along the memorial alley dedicated to fallen warriors and observed a minute of silence in honor of Ukraine’s fallen defenders.

Today is Ukraine’s Independence Day. The 35th anniversary. A national holiday with a flavor profoundly changed by the war. 1,643 days of full-scale war.

These are the Agreement on Defence and Security Cooperation under the Drone Deal format and the Joint Declaration on a Strategic Partnership (the Ellisiv Accord). The document is named after the daughter of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, who married King Harald Hardrada and became Queen of Norway.

In Kyiv, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held six bilateral meetings with the heads of state and government of countries participating in the Ukraine–Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8) Summit: the Presidents of Lithuania and Finland and the Prime Ministers of Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, and Norway.

The Head of State thanked the NB8 countries for standing with Ukraine throughout all these years of Russia’s full-scale aggression. The President emphasized that everyone understands Russia’s plans for this fall and winter. Ballistic missiles remain the main threat.