The speeches of Mr Zelensky and Ms Zelenska were delivered at the Ukrainian Centre in Vilnius, which Mr Nausėda and Ms Nausėdienė also visited.
„Dear friend Gitanas, dear friend Diana, all the Ukrainians who can hear us now, and the dear people of Lithuania, our true friends. It is as friends that you, Gitana and Diana, have seen our country, our people. It is how the whole of Lithuanian society reacted when the time came to defend Ukraine: you did not hesitate when it came to helping, you did not look for benefits, and you did not calculate how much it cost.
You gave us weapons when we needed them. You showed leadership in uniting Europe, and it was timely. You welcomed our people and made them feel at home“, thanked Mr Zelensky.
Mrs Nausėdienė was thanked by the wife of the President of Ukraine, Mrs O.Zelenska, for her help in setting up the centre for Ukrainian refugees.
„Dear Diana, I am grateful to you for this centre, which you and I conceived as a temporary shelter for Ukrainians. This centre has now become a real core of independence for them: here, our people feel at home – free, with friends, safe. And we will never forget the warmth with which the Lithuanian people support our independence,“ she said.
Mr Zelensky added that victory in this brutal war to defend our homeland would further strengthen the friendship between Lithuania and Ukraine.
„They say that friendship is tested by time. But our friendship and the closeness between our countries are even stronger because a brutal war has tested it. And our common victory will surely strengthen it“, assured the Ukrainian leader.
Mrs Zelenska also addressed her compatriots, regretting that they had to celebrate this important holiday away from home. However, she stressed that the day would be important wherever Ukrainians were present.
„Dear compatriots, Ukrainians who have found refuge in Lithuania. This year you are celebrating Independence Day far from home. This year, Independence Day is not only ours. It is everywhere there are Ukrainians. And this day is also yours, dear Lithuanian friends because you have become our backbone.
For you and for us, independence is an innate value because it means the right to bring up our children in our own homes, the right to read them a story in the evening in their own language. The right to be yourself and to live. So, dear Ukrainians and Lithuanians, happy Independence Day,“ said Mrs Zelenska.
The congratulatory speech was concluded in Lithuanian.
„Glory to our Lithuanian friends,“ Ms Zelenska addressed the people in Lithuanian.
„Glory to Ukraine, glory to all our heroes,“ Zelensky echoed her in beautiful Lithuanian.
Ukraine declared its independence from the Soviet Union on 24 August 1991, after a putsch in Moscow failed.
