President of Ukraine has reiterated the fact that Crimea is part of Ukraine, and that the country will never leave it behind. The Russian war, which started with Crimea, must end with its liberation, the leader stressed. He made the statement in a video address to the nation.

“This Russian war against Ukraine and against all of free Europe began with Crimea and must end with Crimea – with its liberation.

There is a lot of attention these days to the topic of Crimea, which is right. Because Crimea is Ukrainian, and we will never leave it behind. We will not forget that the Russian war against Ukraine began with the occupation of Crimea. Russia has turned our peninsula, which has always been and will continue to be one of the best places in Europe, into one of the most dangerous places.

Russia brought large-scale repression, environmental issues, economic hopelessness, and war to Crimea. The very presence of Russian occupiers in Crimea is a threat to all of Europe and global stability.

Maybe one day historians will determine how many people were killed by Russia’s terror. Tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands? From Ukraine and Georgia to Syria and more distant regions.

The Black Sea region cannot be safe as long as the peninsula remains occupied. There will be no stable and sustainable peace in many Mediterranean countries either as long as Russia is able to exploit the Ukrainian peninsula as its military base”, - said Volodymyr Zelensky.