Lyiv, Feb 16 : Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday congratulated citizens on the Unity Day and noted that all Ukrainians are united by a shared aspiration to live in peace. On Monday, Zelenskyy signed a decree, declaring February 16 as a Unity Day, requiring Ukrainian flags to be hoisted on all the facilities across the country, with the national anthem playing in the background and media events commemorating the occasion in Ukrainian diplomatic missions abroad.
The Unity Day aims to reinforce “the consolidation of Ukrainian society, bolster its resilience amid growing hybrid threats, information and propaganda, moral and psychological pressure on the public consciousness,” the decree said. Zelenskyy said in a public address, “Today is an important day, a day of unity for all of us, we are different, of different age, gender, from different cities, regions, different professions, talents, different knowledge, languages, religions.
“But we are united by one common desire, to live, live in peace, live happily as one family, with children, with parents. And we have every right for all this because we are at home, we are in Ukraine. And no one will love our home as we do. And only together we can protect our home.” This comes as allegations that Moscow is plotting an invasion of Ukraine continue to pour in from the West. On Tuesday, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said that Russia was withdrawing some forces away from Crimea and the border with Ukraine where Russian personnel participated in military drills.
Meanwhile, the United States and European allies insist that Russia’s threat to Ukraine remains, with US President Joe Biden stating on Wednesday that an incursion “remains distinctly possible,” as nearly 150,000 Russian troops “encircling Ukraine and Belarus and along Ukraine’s border.” Moscow has repeatedly denied having any intention of invading any country, saying that inflated fears of Russia’s alleged incursion into Ukraine are used as a pretext for advancing NATO’s military presence in Eastern Europe.
