Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday vowed to restore Ukrainian rule over Crimea, rebuild the peninsula and lead it on a path into the European Union.
Mr Zelenskyy told a virtual summit dedicated to Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014: "It started in Crimea and it will end in Crimea."
"We need to win — to win the fight against Russian aggression, and therefore we need to free Crimea from occupation."
His call to arms was echoed by Polish President Andrzej Duda, the only foreign leader to attend in person in Kyiv, who said Ukraine had the right to liberate its internationally recognised territory.
Mr Duda said he was determined to "see Crimea, the Ukrainian Crimea ... I believe, Volodymyr, that you will show Crimea to me".
"Crimea is and will be the same part of Ukraine as Gdansk or Lublin are part of Poland, as Nice is part of France, as Cologne is part of Germany, just like Rotterdam is part of the Netherlands," he said.
The annual summit on Crimea has taken on greater significance after Russia's all-out invasion in February. It comes a day before Ukraine's independence day and Mr Zelenskyy and some senior officials wore national dress for the occasion.
Western leaders addressing the summit said they would never recognise the Russian occupation of Crimea, though they stopped short of calling for it to recaptured.
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson said leaders should have the humility to acknowledge that "not everyone realised the sheer enormity of what was happening at the time", heeding a frequent complaint from countries in Eastern Europe.
-
A young girl displays some patriotism during an event in central Brussels for Ukrainian Independence Day, which arrive six months to the day since Russia's invasion. AP -
A giant sculpture of a defiant hand with fingernails painted in the colours of Ukraine stands outside the Russian embassy in Prague, Czech Republic. AFP -
A woman visits the tomb of her relative, a Ukrainian serviceman who was killed in a fight against Russian troops, in Lviv. Reuters -
A vast Ukrainian flag is unfurled on Independence Day in the historical Grand Place of Brussels. AP -
Russian tanks that were captured by the Ukrainian army are displayed on Khreshchatyk on Independence Day in central Kyiv. EPA -
A march on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, south-eastern France. AFP -
Ukrainians young and old gather at Circular Quay in Sydney. Getty Images -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife Olena attend a commemoration ceremony in Kyiv. AFP -
Ukrainians and supporters in Sydney marks the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of 1991, which ended Soviet rule. Getty Images -
The main square in Kyiv has been turned into an open-air military museum for Ukrainian Independence Day. AFP -
Destroyed Russian military vehicles installed in central Kyiv, where authorities have banned mass gatherings in the capital for fear of Russian missile attacks. AP -
Larry the cat stands under a floral display to mark Ukraine's Independence Day outside No 10 Downing Street, central London. Reuters -
Ukrainians take part in a demonstration in the lead-up to Independence Day and six months since the Russian invasion began, in Valletta, Malta. Reuters -
The Academy Symphony Orchestra of the Luhansk Regional Philharmonic performs during a charity concert in support of the armed forces of Ukraine, in Lviv. Getty Images -
Central Kyiv is full of reminders of the continuing war on Independence Day. AFP -
Ukrainian and American flags raised on a street in New York to mark the occasion. AFP -
Dynamo Kyiv players wrapped in Ukrainian national flags before their second-leg Champions League play-off match against Benfica in Lisbon. EPA -
The Triton Fountain in Valletta is lit in Ukrainian colours. Reuters -
Ukrainians show support in the Maltese capital. Reuters -
'The Train to Victory', sitting at Kyiv railway station, consists of seven carriages painted by Ukrainian artists, each dedicated to the occupied territories of Ukraine. The train was to arrive in the western city of Uzhgorod on Independence Day. EPA -
Support for Ukraine in Zagreb, Croatia. AFP -
People arriving on Khreschatyk Street in Kyiv, where events to mark Ukraine's Independence Day are being held. Getty Images
He said Russian President Vladimir Putin was "planning to do to parts of Ukraine, in fact all of Ukraine, what he has done to Crimea and he is preparing more annexations and more sham referendums".
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz echoed that warning, amid suggestions that Russia would try to annex territory captured during this year's invasion.
"Any sham referendums or other attempts to alter the status of parts of Ukrainian territory will never be recognised," said Mr Scholz.
A referendum in Crimea in 2014 was dismissed as fraudulent by western powers because it took place while Russian troops were on the peninsula, violated Ukraine's constitution and was marred by irregularities.
Russia shows no sign of abandoning the peninsula, home to its Black Sea fleet, and has used Crimea as a platform to launch missile strikes on Ukrainian targets.
Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg accused Russia of turning Crimea into "one of the most militarised areas in Europe", while other leaders highlighted reports of human rights abuse under Moscow's rule.
But recent explosions in Crimea have raised the prospect that the fighting could spread there, even as Ukraine remains coy on whether it is behind them.
Mr Scholz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen repeated a promise made by the G7 countries at their summit in June to support Ukraine for "as long as it takes".
Mr Zelenskyy said restoring control over Crimea would be "a historic anti-war step in Europe" and promised to restore public services and tourism if Ukraine retook the peninsula.
He said people from Crimea would become citizens of the European Union if Ukraine fulfilled its dream of joining the bloc, a process that took a step forward in June when it was formally granted candidate status.
"I want to emphasise for Ukraine — Crimea is not just some territory, not a figure in the geopolitical game. For Ukraine, Crimea is a part of our people, our society, a community of people," Mr Zelenskyy said.
"The path of Crimea will be the path of the entire Ukrainian continent. Ukraine will remove the barbed wire that blocks the way for ordinary people to the best spots and places of Crimea, these illegal fences that have torn out this beautiful coastline of our beautiful Crimea."
