President Volodymyr Zelensky marked the second anniversary of the battle of Moshchun in Kyiv Oblast on March 21, where Ukrainian forces defended against the Russian advance on Kyiv in the first weeks of the full-scale invasion.
Moshchun is located just three kilometers (two miles) north of Kyiv's city limits. Some of the fiercest fighting in the battle of Kyiv took place in the forest near Moshchun in March 2022.
Russia's defeat in Moshchun prevented its troops from encircling Ukraine's capital and subsequently forced Russian troops to withdraw from northern Ukraine in early April 2022.
During a moment of silence, the names of 118 Ukrainians who died in the battle for the village were read out.
"Today we commemorate a battle that took place already two years ago, but it must never be forgotten. That time largely determined the fate of the Ukrainian state," Zelensky said at the ceremony.
"At that time, we did not have such powerful weapons as we have now, but we already had the main thing – the courage of people and the ability of Ukrainians to make the right choice."
Zelensky laid flowers at a memorial to soldiers who were killed defending the region and presented state awards to military personnel, border guards, members of the National Guard, and personnel from the Security Service of Ukraine.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
(Updated: )
