Right now the destiny of our country is being decided. The destiny of our people, whether Ukrainians will be free, whether they will be able to prese… - Volodymyr Zelenskyy

A year ago, on this day, from this very place, at about seven in the morning, I addressed you with a short statement. It lasted only 67 seconds. It contained the two most important things, then and now. That Russia started a full-scale war against us. And that we are strong. We are ready for anything. We will defeat everyone. Because we are Ukraine! That is how February 24, 2022 began. The longest day of our lives. The hardest day of our modern history. We woke up early and haven't fallen asleep since. Some people were afraid, some were shocked, some did not know what to say, but everyone felt what to do. There were traffic jams on the roads, but many people were going to get weapons. Queues were forming. Some people stood at the borders, but many went to military registration and enlistment offices, and territorial defense units.

Politics is like bad cinema — people overact, take it too far. When I speak with politicians, I see this in their facial expressions, their eyes, the way they squint. I look at things like a producer. I would often watch a scene on the monitor, and the director and I would yell, ‘Stop, no more, this is unwatchable! No one will believe this.’

We are expanding the area of active operations. The Commander-in-Chief reported that our forces control 74 settlements in the Kursk region. I thank every soldier, every commander who ensures this. Once again, I thank all our guys who are replenishing the exchange fund — this is very important for our state. Hundreds of Russian servicemen have already surrendered, and all of them will receive humane treatment — they did not experience such treatment even in their own Russian army.