Zelensky hails ‘brave’ Ukraine on 500th day of war

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed his country as “brave” on the 500th day of Russia’s invasion, as the war’s toll mounts with eight deaths reported in Russian rocket fire.

Zelensky publishes on social media an undated video clip of a visit to Snake Island in the Black Sea — a symbol of Ukraine’s defiance against Russia.

“Today we are on Snake Island, which will never be conquered by the occupiers, like the whole of Ukraine, because we are the country of the brave,” he says.

“I want to thank from here, from this place of victory, each of our soldiers for these 500 days,” he says in the video, which shows him arriving on the island by boat and leaving flowers.

The UN has documented 9,000 civilian deaths since the start of the war on February 24, 2022, including 500 children, although it estimates the real toll could be significantly higher.

On day 500 of the war, Zelensky visits Snake Island, which Ukraine regained last summer after months of fighting, and after sinking the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. pic.twitter.com/uVYNFyJFNo

— Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof) July 8, 2023