An Ukrinform correspondent reports this.

The ceremony was attended by President Volodymyr Zelensky, Verkhovna Rada Chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk, Deputy Head of the Office of the President Pavlo Palisa, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Defense Minister Yevhenii Khmara, National Security and Defense Council Secretary Ihor Klymenko, Head of the Foreign Intelligence Service Rustem Umerov, as well as high-ranking foreign guests.

1 / 19In his address, the Ukrainian President said that the ceremony featured a historic flag known as the Flag of Independence, which was brought into the Verkhovna Rada in the first moments after Ukraine declared independence on August 24, 1991.

“Today is an important day – the day of our important Ukrainian symbol, our true talisman. It is a day of powerful emotion – the warmth you feel when you are at home, or when, in any corner of the Earth, you recognize your own people and what is yours. You recognize it in the two colors of the Ukrainian heart and soul, to which this day is dedicated – Ukraine’s National Flag Day,” Zelensky said.

The President emphasized that 35 years ago, Ukrainians often had to sew their flags themselves and do so in secret.

“For Russia and Putin, throughout all this time, our flag and the very existence of Ukraine have been the greatest irritant. It concerns them far more than their own domestic issues and the problems of millions of Russians. That is why, in 2014 and in February 2022, Russia attacked to take this flag away from us – to take away our symbols, our freedom, and our independence. They came to take everything from us. Russia has not abandoned these ambitions. Massive – truly massive – strikes, terror, and killings are all driven by one man’s manic dream: that Ukraine should not exist. The Kremlin is obsessed with this, but it will ultimately lose precisely because of it,” Zelensky said.

The President stressed that blue and yellow are the colors of Ukraine, the colors of its people and their courage, while the Ukrainian flag is a symbol of strength, resilience, freedom, and the triumph of life.

Zelensky thanked Ukraine’s international partners who joined the celebrations in Kyiv, including the leaders of Finland, Denmark, Norway, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.

High-ranking foreign guests also addressed the ceremony.

Read also:Ukraine celebrates National

FlagDay

As reported, Ukraine celebrates the National Flag Day on August 23.

The holiday was established to honor the centuries-old history of Ukrainian statehood and the national symbols of independent Ukraine, as well as to foster citizens’ respect for state symbols, in accordance with a presidential decree issued on August 23, 2004.

In 2009, the decree was amended to establish an annual official flag-raising ceremony on August 23 across Ukraine.