The war returns to , states the Ukrainian president in a speech broadcast today, Saturday (24.08. 24) on the occasion of the celebration of the 33rd anniversary of Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union. In fact, Volodimir Zelenski sends a warning message to Russia that he will “know what retaliation means”. Russia wanted “to destroy us”, but the war “returned to it”, Zelenski points out in this video with his speech on Ukraine’s Independence Day, which was filmed, according to him, while in the border area from which Kiev launched its surprise cross-border attack on Russia. The Ukrainian president explains in his speech that this video was taken in a deserted forest area of the district of Sumi, which he had visited earlier this week, noting that it was located at a distance of “some kilometers” from where the Ukrainian forces launched their attack. Kiev “surprises once again”, adds the Ukrainian president, promising that Russia “will learn what retaliation means”. With its invasion in February 2022, “Russia sought only one thing: to destroy us. Instead today we celebrate the 33rd anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence Day”, he continues. Shot “fire” to Putin “Anyone who wants to sow evil on our soil will reap the fruits in his own territory. This is neither a prediction, a boast, nor a blind revenge. This is only justice,” he points out. In his speech the Ukrainian president also describes Russian President Vladimir Putin as “a sick old man of Red Square who constantly threatens the whole world with the red button”. For days, Moscow has warned of a nuclear disaster in the event of an attack by the Ukrainian army on the Kursk nuclear power station, located in the area in which Kiev forces attacked two weeks ago. Ukraine today honours its independence from the Soviet Union as the war with Moscow runs its third year and after the cross-border attack of thousands of Kievi soldiers in the Russian border region of Kursk, during which they have controlled dozens of settlements and an area of hundreds of square kilometres. For their part, Russian forces continue to gain ground in eastern Ukraine, and state that they are still achieving heavy casualties to Ukrainians and hinder their efforts to advance them deeply into Russian territory. Since the start of the Ukrainian cross-border attack in Russia, over 130,000 people have been removed from their homes to escape fighting and bombing, according to Kursk district authorities. At least 31 civilians have lost their lives and 143 have been injured, according to the Russian state news agency TASS.
Zelenski warns Russia that he will “know what retaliation means” and calls Putin “a sick old man of Red Square”
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