Today, 28 June, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated the people of Ukraine on Constitution Day, reminding them that the first word of the first article of our Constitution is "Ukraine". He noted that the right of the Ukrainian people is the right to peace.
As the Head of State noted in a video address recorded at the Lviv railway station on his way from Kyiv to Brussels, from the first minutes of the war, millions of people have proved that Ukraine is truly in the first place for them.
"And now I am here at the time of the historic decision to negotiate Ukraine's accession to the EU. We are now on our way to Europe. In every sense of the word. Our whole Ukraine is going through a difficult road. When a lot has been done, but a lot is ahead. When we cannot stop or take a wrong turn. When we have to get there. When we must successfully complete this path - Ukraine's path to Europe," Zelenskyy said.
He added that, according to Article 17 of the Constitution, the defence of Ukraine is the most important function of the state and the business of the entire Ukrainian people.
"Millions of Ukrainians prove their commitment to this every day. Heroes on the frontline and those who work hard to strengthen the state. Ukrainians who changed their lives, changed their profession, but did not change their choice in favour of freedom, Ukraine, and Europe," the President added.
According to Zelenskyy, the movement towards Europe and the path to freedom today is not only geographical and political, but also ideological.
"It is happening in different directions: Kharkiv, Kupyansk, Zaporizhzhya, Siversk, the day before I was in Pokrovsk... And in other, many, many directions. This path is difficult, but Ukraine will overcome it," the Head of State noted.
He reminded that the Constitution of Ukraine is human-centred, and Russia's war against Ukraine is human-centred, and Putin is striking at the constitutional freedoms of Ukrainians.
"The right of all our people and our country is the right to peace. Therefore, every day of our resistance is a struggle not only for our sovereign territories, but above all for our sovereign rights, for our human rights. The principles by which we lived before the war. And by which we will live after the victory," the President said.