Dear Ukrainians! Dear people!
Today is Ukraine’s Independence Day.
I am here now, in the heart of Kyiv, on Independence Square. And it is here that one can best feel what independence truly means, why it is so important to us. And why Maidan is much more than just the main square of our country. For it is a symbol: a symbol of independence, its guardian. This is the place where history is always made, where the energy and strength of our people are born in times of threat to our independence.
And now, as the full-scale war for independence continues, it is here, on Maidan, that one can find such powerful symbols. Symbols of how we fight, what we fight for, and how we overcome this war.
These symbols are all around us, in this Monument of Independence. Inside, it has a reinforced concrete frame and can literally withstand a hurricane. Just like our Ukraine has withstood the great calamity that Russia brought to our land. Here, at the “Zero Kilometer.” This is the starting point, where distances to Ukrainian cities are marked. To our Donetsk, our Luhansk, our Crimea. And today, these markers have an entirely different meaning. They are no longer just about kilometers. They remind us that all of this is Ukraine. And our people are there, and no distance between us can change that, and no temporary occupation can alter that. And one day, this distance between Ukrainians will disappear, and we will be together again as one family, as one country. It is only a matter of time. And Ukraine believes it can achieve this – secure peace, peace across its entire land. Ukraine is capable of it.
Because Ukraine has character. Rock-solid endurance, a gaze we do not avert, and hands scorched by fire and time, yet strong. Hands that hold the shield and defend what is theirs: their land, their culture, their millennia-old history, testified by the legacy of Kyiv’s founders. And we defend our future, for which our heroes have given their lives.
These are names we will never forget or betray. Names that defended our independence. And it is here, on Maidan, that Ukrainians often bid farewell to heroes on the shield. And everyone who has ever been to such a farewell, and everyone who has lost someone in this war, carries a personal reckoning with Russia forever and has vowed never to forget their heroes.
The embodiment of that vow is this field of national memory – a field of great strength, for in every small flag lies someone’s remarkable story, action, and choice: a choice in favor of Ukraine, in favor of the future, specifically, the freedom of peace and the peace of freedom. This is the philosophy reflected in our culture through the image of Cossack Mamai, who earned his freedom and can therefore set aside his weapon and take up the kobza, while keeping his saber close, just in case, yet returning to peaceful, civilian life. This is what we all aspire to. And we know: no one will simply give it to us; it can only be won.
This is exactly what we have been doing for 1,278 days of this war – the war for independence. For each of these days, I want to thank you: the Ukrainian warrior, the Ukrainian volunteer, the doctor, the rescuer, the teacher, our youth, our parents, every Ukrainian. Thank you all. For what we have already endured. And for the Ukraine we are creating together. For the Ukraine it has already become. That came of age on February 24. That took its fate into its own hands and armed itself. It had no time to hesitate, no right to be afraid. And it truly stopped the world’s second-ranked army. And we will keep saying this. We will because it shatters the myth of the invincible Russian army.
We have proven it. And we continue to prove it today. Each person in their own place. Each who bears independence within themselves. Who defends our right to be Ukrainians – through their work, their deeds, their achievements. Today, independence is forged on the battlefield. Independence shields the skies each night. It saves lives in hospitals. It extinguishes fires. It teaches. Independence does not sleep, working around the clock at defense enterprises, because it is so important that our warriors have everything they need, that independence has everything it needs to defend itself. Independence is behind the wheel, on the road to those in need. Independence fights in the ring, on global arenas and stages where Ukrainians perform. It is on the pages of books and in the words of poems written by Ukrainians.
When we hear from the enemy every day: “There is no such state, there is no such nation.” And when, every day, we prove the opposite. We prove that Ukrainians exist – and Ukrainians will remain on this land, on this square, where our future generations will stand a hundred years from now. And a hundred years from now, they will celebrate Ukraine’s Independence Day here.
It will be so. It will be so because Ukraine is different today. Ukraine is stronger and has self-respect. And Ukraine does not wait for gestures of goodwill, but it has its own will to put into life what is necessary for us. And when Russia wants to take the Sumy region, the Armed Forces appear in the Kursk region. When the enemy strikes our energy infrastructure, trying to leave us without light or heat, then its oil refineries burn. And no one can forbid us such strikes because it’s justice itself that delivers them. Just as when Russia attacks us every day – our peaceful cities, our hospitals, our schools, killing our civilians, our children – it receives the “Spiderweb” in response. And this is how justice strikes. This is how Ukraine strikes when its calls for peace are ignored. How many times have we proposed a ceasefire? How many times have we said: “We want silence, we seek peace?” But a dignified, all-encompassing peace – and that is why we count on the strength of the entire world.
This is the Ukraine of today. And such a Ukraine will never again be forced in history to endure the shame that the Russians call a “compromise.” We need a just peace. Our future will be decided by us alone. And the world knows it. And the world respects it. Respects Ukraine. Treats Ukraine as an equal.
Ukraine that can, indeed, in a single day, gather and unite the world’s leaders around itself. Ukraine with which the United States – and the entire world – wants to co-produce drones. Ukraine that has restored the unity of Europe and the United States and now serves as the foundation of this alliance. Ukraine that stands its ground and can defend itself. And that is why Ukraine is heard, Ukraine is taken into account, and Ukraine is listened to. Its place is at the table; it is not told, “Wait outside the door.” It is said, “The decision is yours alone.”
It was exactly this Ukraine that I had the honor of representing in the United States a week ago. Today, both the U.S. and Europe agree: Ukraine has not yet fully won, but it will certainly not lose. Ukraine has secured its independence. Ukraine is not a victim; it is a fighter. Ukraine does not beg; it offers. Alliance and partnership. The best army in Europe. Advanced defense technologies. Experience in resilience. We say: “We need the EU.” And we do. But the EU needs us just as much. And everyone acknowledges this. And this is how Ukraine is seen – not as a poor relative, but as a strong ally.
This is precisely what the Coalition of the Willing is about. This was what Washington was about. About that and about ensuring a sustainable, reliable, long-lasting peace. Ukraine will achieve it because it will receive security guarantees – so strong that the thought of attacking Ukraine would never cross anyone’s mind.
This is not just our goal – it is exactly what we want and must pass on as a legacy to our children and grandchildren: a strong Ukraine, an equal Ukraine, a European Ukraine, an independent Ukraine.
So that the closed cycles of history are finally broken, those in which every generation lacked something to preserve their independence, and each new generation would enter a new turn, again forced to take up arms, again having to defend itself and reclaim its freedom. We must not pass this burden on to our descendants. We are building a Ukraine strong and powerful enough to live in security and peace. So that here, on this square, on our Independence Square, beneath our flags, on our land, our children and grandchildren will celebrate Independence Day. In peace. In calm. With confidence in the future. With respect. And with gratitude to all those who defended Ukraine in this war for independence. To those who endured, who prevailed, who gained victory. Such a goal is worth living for. And this is what we stand for.
Happy holiday to you, great people of a great country! Happy Independence Day!
Glory to Ukraine!