“Tomorrow [domingo]we celebrate the day of our soldiers who resisted Russian aggression. We are all here together to express our gratitude for everything they have done for us and for everything they continue to do,” Maryna Mykhailenko told the Lusa agency.
The representative of Ukraine on Portuguese territory spoke on the sidelines of a symbolic action in Praça D. Pedro IV, in Lisbon, aimed at thanking the Ukrainian Armed Forces and honoring the memory of those who “sacrificed their lives for the freedom of the country”, reinforcing the celebration of Defenders’ Day – a holiday celebrated from Sunday on October 1.
Since 2015, Defenders Day has been celebrated on October 14, in memory of the soldiers who have defended Ukraine since the conflict in Crimea.
“It’s aggression, an aggression. It’s all illegal. Russia is violating international law. Russia violates the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. It is nothing. The explanation [de Vladimir Putin] is zero,” the ambassador said, after the Kremlin leader congratulated Russians on the anniversary of the annexation of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporijia.
Putin described the annexation as a “historic and important” event.
Regarding her first months in Portugal, Maryna Mykhailenko thanked the Portuguese government for its support.
“We are very grateful to Portugal for its support, for all its support, military support, humanitarian support and economic support,” he emphasized, recalling the training of Ukrainian pilots and mechanics to fly F-16 fighters.
Maryna Mykhailenko also reminded Lusa of the “very successful” visit of the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, to Ukraine last month.
“We are very grateful that we spent two days with us and also that we speak Ukrainian. We were all surprised,” he emphasized.
During the celebration of the 32nd anniversary of Ukraine’s independence in Kiev, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa spoke in Ukrainian with his counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky and the military to ensure that Portugal will always support the independence of the country where it is already a years for fighting. half a Russian invasion.
On February 21, Volodymyr Zelensky signed the decree appointing Maryna Mykhaylenko as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Portuguese Republic, after deciding last year to dismiss the current ambassador, Inna Ohnivets.
The military offensive that Russia launched in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 has caused the worst refugee crisis in Europe since World War II (1939-1945), according to the latest UN data.
The Russian invasion – justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security – was condemned by most of the international community, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and impose political and economic sanctions on Russia.
Source: DN
