Russia will bear the full brunt of responsibility for the deadly attack on the village of Chaplyne in Dnipropetrovsk Region, which killed over 20 people, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his late-night address on 24 August.
The following is the full text of his speech published on his official website:
"Fellow Ukrainians!
It's almost night, our main day, Independence Day of Ukraine, is coming to an end. But our independence does not end and will never end. And there will be our 32nd Independence Day, and 33rd, and all the following ones, as long as time on earth lasts. Ukraine will live forever. And it will only get stronger every day. And absolutely everyone in the world understands this - from the UN Security Council to all capitals without exception.
Therefore, let's not retreat from our path, let's fight, express gratitude to everyone who supports us, take care of our state, preserve our unity - the same unity as today, as every day over these six months. And no enemy will be able to defeat us. There are no such bombs that can erase freedom, and there will never be such missiles that can break the will of the people who believe in themselves.
Chaplyne is our pain today. As of this moment, there are 22 dead, five of them burned in the car, an 11-year-old teenager died, a Russian missile destroyed his house.
Search and rescue operations at the railway station will continue. We will definitely make the occupiers bear responsibility for everything they have done. And we will certainly drive the invaders out of our land. Not a single stain of this evil will remain in our free Ukraine. We will make our way to victory! It will happen!
Eternal memory to all those whose lives were taken by these invaders, these enemies.
Eternal glory to all our warriors! Glory to our people!
Glory to our Ukrainian strong world, our independence, our nation!
Glory to all of you!
Glory to Ukraine!"