Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has delivered his final speech of the year to Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, telling lawmakers that Ukraine is recognized worldwide for its unity and courage in the face of the Russian invasion.
Ukraine's national colors "are the international symbol of courage," Zelenskiy said in the December 28 speech, which was delayed by more than an hour because of an air strike.
"In any country, in any continent, when you see blue and yellow, you know it's about freedom. About the people who did not surrender, who stood, who united the world. And which will win," he said.
Zelenskiy said the world had seen that freedom can be triumphant through Ukraine's gains on the battlefield, adding his thanks to all of Ukraine's military.
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Yaroslav Zheleznyak of the Holos (Voice) party said members of the cabinet, armed forces commander-in-chief General Valeriy Zaluzhniy, foreign diplomats, and family members of fallen defenders of Ukraine were present for the speech to parliament.
Zelenskiy spoke about his visit last week to Washington for a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden and his appeal to a joint session of Congress for continued support.
He presented Pavlov Chernyavskiy, the Ukrainian commander of the high-mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS), with an award from Biden as members of parliament stood and applauded. Ukraine been successful using HIMARS provided by the United States in its counteroffensive against Russia.
Biden gave Zelenskiy a command coin to pass along to Chernyavskiy, who last week gave his Cross of Combat Merit to Biden.
Zelenskiy said it was "an honor to carry out this special mission" to deliver Chernyavskiy's merit award to Biden and Biden's coin to Chernyavskiy.
Zelenskiy again thanked the U.S. authorities and the American people for the "historical support of Ukraine," which amounts to tens of billions of dollars since Russia's full-scale, unprovoked invasion began on February 24.
Zelenskiy also described the reconstruction of Ukraine as one of Europe's biggest economic projects. He called on the legislators to draft laws that would attract entrepreneurs and investors to help in rebuilding the country.
He called for Ukraine to spend $30 billion on defense in the coming years and set a goal to next year win the release of all Ukrainians who have been captured by Russia as prisoners of war. Russia is thought to hold thousands of Ukrainians as POWs, but the exact figures are not known.
Since the beginning of the war in February, 1,456 people have returned home, he said.
In his evening video message on December 28, Zelenskiy asked Ukrainians to pay more attention to those around them and to support Ukrainian soldiers.
Attention to others, warm words when it's cold, and care for each other when circumstances are trying are also part of Ukraine's common defense, he said.
The president added that Ukrainians have not lost their humanity, even though they have experienced "terrible months."