He emphasized that the desire of people to live freely, expressed on August 24, 1991 and confirmed on December 1 of the same year, cannot be broken.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, speaking on the anniversary of the referendum for Ukraine’s independence, said that Ukrainians would never again be “pebbles” of empires.

As he noted in the evening video message, a referendum was held 31 years ago that united “the entire territory of our country.” And it was a real referendum, and not some kind of imitation.

“Everyone supported it. People confirmed the Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine – freely and legally. It was a real referendum, not some kind of imitation. It was an honest referendum, and that’s why the world recognized it,” the President of Ukraine emphasized.

According to him, it is important that not just politicians, but people in particular put an end to the history of the empire, which was built on the denial of the will of the people, “which killed, trying to perpetuate the denial of the will of the people, but which the people overthrew anyway.”

Zelensky emphasized that since that day in 1991, Ukrainians have experienced many attempts to “turn a dot into a dot or a semicolon”, and there were many figures who could not calm down that the empire had been overthrown.

“We are still protecting Ukraine from such “comrades” who wanted to celebrate the centenary of the Empire this year instead of regular anniversaries of freedom. They wanted… But it will be according to Ukrainian rules,” added the president of Ukraine.

At the same time, he emphasized that the desire of people to live freely, which was expressed on August 24, 1991 and confirmed on December 1 of the same year, should not be broken.

“Ukrainians will never again be the “stones” of some empires. We have already achieved this and will ensure the full independence of our state,” Zelenskyi said.

Referendum for the independence of Ukraine

As you know, on December 1, 1991, an all-Ukrainian referendum on Ukraine’s independence was held.

Citizens in all 27 administrative units of the state (24 regions, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol) supported the Declaration of Independence. 90.32% of those who took part in the referendum answered affirmatively to the question: “Do you confirm the Act of Proclamation of Independence of Ukraine?”.

In August 2021, the survey showed that after 30 years, almost 83% of those who have decided and would go to the referendum are ready to vote for the independence of Ukraine.