President Biden commemorated Ukraine’s Independence Day by renewing the U.S. commitment to support Ukraine “over the long term” amid its ongoing war with Russia.
“Today, the people of Ukraine are once more marking their Independence Day, while suffering the all-out assault of Putin’s craven war for land and power,” Biden said via a White House statement early Thursday morning. “Together with our partners in Europe, we are supporting Ukraine in their fight for freedom now and we will help them over the long term.”
The U.S. president promised to continue assisting Ukraine and said the American support would be “unwavering and enduring” — as some lawmakers in the U.S. Congress have brought such support into question.
He also vowed to “hold Russian forces accountable for the war crimes and other atrocities they have committed” since they first invaded Ukraine in Feb. 2022.
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US President Joe Biden renewed his administration’s effort to support Ukraine on the country’s Independence Day on Aug. 24, 2023. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
In Thursday’s statement, Biden said, “For eighteen months, Ukrainian families have lived under the daily threat of Russian rockets and the reality of brutal attacks. But the people of Ukraine have refused to break.”
“On this Independence Day, as they have since Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2014, brave Ukrainian women and men are defending Ukraine from assaults on fundamental principles essential to every nation on the planet – sovereignty and territorial integrity. They are showing the world once more that freedom is worth fighting for,” he continued.
The U.S. president also promised to continue assisting Ukraine and said the American support would be “unwavering and enduring” — as some lawmakers in the U.S. Congress have brought such support into question.
“Independence means the freedom to choose your own future,” a statement from his office said. “It’s precious. Each year on July 4th, Americans celebrate our Independence Day as a time to remember the price we paid for our freedom and all the blessings that flow from it. So today, as Putin continues his brutal war to erase Ukraine’s independence and redraw the map of our world by force, Americans all across the country stand united with the people of Ukraine.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attends the official celebration of Ukrainian Independence Day on August 24, 2023, in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Alexey Furman/Getty Images)
Biden said, “The United States will continue our work, together with partners all around the world, to support Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russia’s aggression, to uphold the foundational principles of the UN Charter, and to help the Ukrainian people build the secure, prosperous, and independent future they deserve.”
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“Our commitment to Ukraine’s independence is unwavering and enduring,” the White House statement continued. “That’s why the United States and other G7 nations issued a joint declaration in Lithuania last month pledging to help Ukraine maintain armed forces capable of deterring Russian aggression in years to come, a declaration which over 25 nations have now joined.”
The U.S. president also vowed to “hold Russian forces accountable for the war crimes and other atrocities they have committed” since they first invaded Ukraine in Feb. 2022.
“We are also working with nations everywhere to hold Russian forces accountable for the war crimes and other atrocities they have committed in Ukraine,” Biden said. “That includes the forcible removal of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia. These children have been stolen from their parents and kept apart from their families. It’s unconscionable. And today, we are announcing new sanctions to hold those responsible for these forced transfers and deportations to account, and to demand that Ukrainian children be returned to their families.”
And, “I sincerely hope that next year, Ukrainians will be able to celebrate their Independence Day in peace and safety, knowing how their extraordinary courage inspired the world. May Ukraine’s Independence Day be a reminder that the forces of darkness and dominion will never extinguish the flame of liberty that lives in the heart of free people everywhere.”
A view of the center of Kharkiv from the roof of the Palace of Labor destroyed by shelling. on August 23, 2023. Today, Kharkiv celebrates its 369th anniversary. (Sofiia Bobok/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The Ukrainian people celebrate independence on August 24th, the day Ukraine’s unicameral parliament, Verkhovna Rada, proclaimed the holiday in commemoration of its Declaration of Independence of 1991.
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Ukrianian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, 45, also marked the major holiday in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
“Happy Ukraine’s Independence Day! The day of the free, the strong, and the dignified. The day of equals. Ukrainian men and women. In our entire country,” Zelenskyy wrote. “In this fight, everyone counts. Because the fight is for something that is important to everyone: An independent Ukraine.”