Ukraine raises independence flag at Kyiv ceremony

Ukraine held a flag-raising ceremony in Kyiv on Sunday to mark National Flag Day, with the country’s top officials and foreign leaders attending, LRT reported.

Those present included President Volodymyr Zelensky, Verkhovna Rada Chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Pavlo Palisa, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara, National Security and Defence Council Secretary Ihor Klymenko and Foreign Intelligence Service chief Rustem Umerov.

Zelensky thanked Ukraine’s allies who travelled to Kyiv for the event, including the leaders of Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Finland.

In his speech, Zelensky said the flag raised at the ceremony was the historic Independence Flag. It was brought into the Verkhovna Rada in the first moments after Ukraine declared independence on August 24, 1991.

He said that 35 years ago Ukrainians had to make their own flags secretly. Zelensky accused Russia of attacking Ukraine in 2014 and February 2022 in an effort to take away its flag, symbols, freedom and independence.

He described Ukraine’s blue and yellow colours as symbols of its people and their courage, and called the national flag a symbol of strength, resilience, freedom and the triumph of life.