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Zelenski hails independence from Soviet Union at Kiev parade

Kiev, Aug 24 (EFE).- Ukraine’s president, Volodimir Zelenski, lauded the “restoration of independence” of his country from the Soviet Union during a military parade on Tuesday.

“Today is the day of the restoration of independence,” a term widely used in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to refer to their split from the Soviet Union. It is the first time the term has been used in public by a Ukrainian president.

One can “occupy territories, but not the hearts of Ukrainians” said Zelenski, referring to the annexation of Crimea and the occupation of part of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine by Russia, as he inaugurated the large military parade in Kiev.

“We are a young country with 1,000 years of history. We are a young family that has its roots in the glorious dynasty of Kievan Rus, Ukraine. We are not orphans, we are descendants of a powerful state in the center of Europe,” Zelenski said on the rostrum installed in Independence (Maidan) Square.

The head of state announced a new national holiday, the Day of the Ukrainian state, which will be celebrated on July 28, the day of the baptism of Kievan Rus.

Zelenski emphasized the multinational character of Ukraine and stressed that the country would not allow anyone to “appropriate its history” and “annex its heroes”.

Ukraine, he added, has broad international support, as demonstrated by the Crimea Platform summit held on Monday in Kiev, where representatives of 46 countries and international institutions adopted a declaration condemning the Russian occupation of the peninsula. EFE

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