The United Nations has called for the area to be demilitarised. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky released a video statement on May 8, the UN’s designated Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Th. Pro-Moscow forces took over the plant soon after the invasion began but it is still operated by Ukrainian technicians. ‘‘I’m continuing to consult very actively and intensively with all parties,’’ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi said in a statement. In an indication of some progress toward the plant being inspected by an independent monitor, the UN nuclear watchdog on Tuesday said it will visit within days if talks to gain access succeed. Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly accused each other of firing at the plant. One area of deep concern to the warring parties and other countries are the circumstances at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the southern Ukrainian city of Enerhodar. ‘‘They will receive a response, a powerful response,’’ Mr Zelensky said on Tuesday. The Kyiv city administration banned large public gatherings until Thursday, fearing a crowd of celebrating residents could become a target for a Russian missile strike. ‘‘We are fighting against the most terrible threat to our statehood and also at a time when we have achieved the greatest level of national unity,’’ Mr Zelensky said. The government laid out the carcasses of burnt-out Russian tanks and armoured vehicles like war trophies in central Kyiv in a show of defiance.Īuthorities urged people to take air raid warnings seriously and seek shelter when sirens sound.

But none of us will allow our Ukraine to end,' Zelensky said in a video marking the two-year anniversary of Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Mr Zelensky said he would be rewarding people such as railway personnel, emergency services workers, electricians, drivers, artists and those in the media to mark the day. 24 thanked Ukrainians for their efforts to resist Russias full-scale invasion. ‘‘What for us is the end of the war? We used to say peace. The 44-year-old wartime leader delivered the speech in his trademark combat fatigues in front of Kyiv’s central monument to independence from the Russia-controlled Soviet Union. A nation that did not cry, scream or take fright. ‘‘A new nation appeared in the world on February 24 at 4 in the morning.

In a recorded speech aired on the six-month anniversary of Russia’s February 24 invasion, Mr Zelensky said Ukraine no longer saw the war ending when there was peace, but when Kyiv was actually victorious. Celebrating independence despite constant threat

Zelensky victory day speech