Says Ukraine Will Not Surrender During Independence Anniversary Speech, President Zelensky: For Us, The End Of The War Is Victory

JAKARTA - President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that Ukraine will not give up fighting for its freedom from Moscow's domination, calling the end of the war a victory for Kyiv, during a speech at the country's 31st Independence Anniversary on Wednesday.

"A new nation appeared in the world on February 24 at 4 am. It was not born, but reborn. A nation that did not cry, scream or fear. Who didn't run away? Do not give up. And don't forget", said President Zelensky.

President Zelensky delivers a speech in front of the towering monument in the center of Kyiv City. He underlined Ukraine's tough stance in the war against any form of compromise, which would allow Moscow to lock in territorial gains, including swaths of southern and eastern Ukraine it captured over the past six months.

"We will not sit at the negotiating table out of fear, with guns pointed at our heads. For us, the most terrible iron is not missiles, planes, and tanks, but shackles. Not trenches, but shackles", he explained.

He further vowed that Ukraine will reclaim lost territory in the Donbas industrial estate in the east, as well as the Crimean peninsula which Russia annexed in 2014.

"For us what is the end of the war? We used to say: peace. Now we say: victory", said President Zelensky.

Ukraine is bracing for a protracted war, with a brutal winter of energy shortages, after repelling Russian troops at the start of what Moscow describes as a special military operation, preventing the fall of Kyiv.

Western military sources now say Russian forces are making little progress in their offensive operations in eastern and southern Ukraine, comparing the fighting to the slow and bloody fighting of World War One.

The streets of downtown Kyiv were very quiet on Wednesday morning, after days of dire warnings Russia could launch new missile attacks on major cities. Air raid sirens sounded in the capital at around 10:40 local time.