Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has marked the new date of the Day of Defenders national holiday by addressing the nation on Oct. 1, informs NV.
Speaking from the Golden Gate, a national landmark in the center of Kyiv, Zeleksnkyy said that Ukraine would remain resilient in its path toward total and final victory.
“The Day of Defenders of Ukraine is a holiday for millions of Ukrainians who defend their homeland; no one can stop us by destroying our resilience, our endurance, strength, and courage,” Zelesnkyy said.
“There is no expiration date, end date, or an extreme point which would stop our resistance and struggle, except for one: our victory.”
Zelesnkyy called on Ukrainians to never forget the first minutes of February 24, 2022, when the full-scale Russian invasion began. In his concluding remarks, he also thanked Ukraine’s border guards, military and national guard personnel, police, and security agents for protecting their homeland.
Ukraine’s Day of Defenders was previously marked on Oct. 14, but after the Ukrainian Orthodox Church officially adopted the Gregorian calendar for religious purposes, the date was changed. This was to ensure it would continue to fall on the same day as the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God.
Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine would mark one minute of silence at 9:00 a.m. on October 1 to honor the memory of the country’s fallen. He added that this would become a new national tradition.