Ukraine has become a state that knows that it needs to defend its land - Volodymyr Zelenskyy

From the first days of the war, Ukrainians have shown that they are a nation, which is ready to defend itself. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a press conference for international and Ukrainian media in Kyiv.

Answering to the question whether Ukraine and its citizens are ready to live in conditions of a lasting war or constant readiness to respond to possible threats, he said: "We will

be such a state. Besides, I want to tell you that we have become such a state, we are already such a state".

At the same time, Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that this does not mean that Ukrainians will be a militant nation.

"I believe that, on the contrary, when we win, we will be a state with the most powerful army, the most experienced. The most experienced people in terms of defense. As for security guarantees, I believe that we will become one of the strongest states in Europe. Not because we are special, but because we have no other choice. These are the realities in which we live. These are the realities with which we are neighbors," the President stressed.

The Head of State noted that Ukrainians found themselves in conditions when they did not have time to think about whether they were ready to defend themselves or not. From the first days of the war, our citizens simply stood up for their homeland.

"We have no other choice," he added.

The President also stressed that due to the unity of the Ukrainian people, Russia's rhetoric of ultimatums began to change.

"It is due to our united people and our united state, which has demonstrated this since the first days of the war. And after a few days of the war, we saw that from the ultimatum in the messages, in the rhetoric of the Russian Federation, certain points disappeared," Volodymyr Zelenskyy summed up.