On the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the nation and for the first time showed the bunker on Bankova Street in Kyiv, from which he coordinated the country’s defense and spoke with world leaders in the opening days of the war.
“Today marks exactly four years of Putin taking Kyiv in three days,” Zelensky said, linking that phrase to Ukraine’s resistance since February 24, 2022.
He said it was from that shelter that he spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden, who warned him of the danger and offered help with evacuation. Zelensky recalled replying that Ukraine needed weapons, not a taxi. He stressed that despite fear and shock, Ukrainians chose to defend their country rather than raise a white flag.
Zelensky said the bunker hosted daily meetings with the military, discussions on delivering weapons, medicine and food to besieged cities, and diplomatic efforts to secure sanctions on Russia and international backing for Ukraine.
He listed some of the war’s tragedies, including Bucha, Irpin, Borodianka, Mariupol, Olenivka, Kramatorsk, Okhmatdyt, the Kakhovka dam and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, saying Ukrainians would not forget them. At the same time, he said the country had not let rage destroy it from within, but had turned that anger into the force of resistance.
The president said Ukraine had gone from receiving body armor to producing more than 3 million FPV drones a year, while systems such as Patriot, HIMARS, NASAMS and F-16s had become part of wartime reality. He added that Russia had failed to defeat Ukraine on the battlefield and continued striking apartment buildings and energy infrastructure.
According to Zelensky, the full-scale war has now lasted 1,462 days, while Russia’s aggression has continued for 12 years. He said Kyiv wants peace, but not one that erases the price already paid, and that in negotiations Ukraine is seeking real security guarantees. The result of these years, he said, is that Ukraine has preserved its independence, statehood and place as a subject of international relations.