Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pledged to restore Ukrainian rule in Crimea during an international online summit on Tuesday.
Speaking on a panel alongside Polish President Andrzej Duda, Zelensky outlined his country's ambitions to regain power in the peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.
"In order to overcome terror, to return predictability and security to our region, Europe and the whole world, we need to win, to win the fight against Russian aggression. And therefore, we need to free Crimea from occupation. It started in Crimea, and it will end in Crimea, and this will be an effective revival of the international legal order," Zelensky told the Crimea Platform summit.
The President stressed that for Ukrainians, Crimea is "not just some territory" or even a "figure in the geopolitical game."
"For Ukraine, Crimea is a part of our people, our society, a community of people to whom we guarantee freedom," he said.
Zelensky added that Crimea has become "a military platform for aggression and the spread of grief," referencing the 750 cruise missiles he said the Russians have launched from the peninsula since the invasion of Ukraine began on Feb. 24.
