Ukraine would win in its war with Russia and would not cede any territory, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday, commemorating the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
"On the Day of Victory over Nazism, we are fighting for a new victory. The road to it is difficult, but we have no doubt that we will win," he said in a written address.
Russia, which invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, is also marking the anniversary of the Soviet Union's World War II victory. President Vladimir Putin was due to preside over a parade of troops, tanks, rockets and intercontinental ballistic missiles on Moscow's Red Square, and to make a speech.
Zelenskyy said Ukrainians were a free people who had fought to defend their land many times in history and had their "own path."
"Today we are waging war on this path and we will not give anyone a single piece of our land ... and we will not give anyone a single piece of our history," he said.
"We are proud of our ancestors who, together with other nations in the anti-Hitler coalition, defeated Nazism. And we will not allow anyone to annex this victory, we will not allow it to be appropriated," he declared.
He added: "There are no shackles that can bind our free spirit. There is no occupier who can take root in our free land. There is no invader who can rule over our free people. Sooner or later we will win."
