Ukraine's restoration of control over Crimea will be historic anti-war step in Europe - Zelenskyy

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated this at the Summit of the Crimean Platform.

"The occupation turned Crimea, which is truly a paradise for all of us, into a depressed and dependent region. A region of high fences, barbed wire and lawlessness, an ecological disaster zone, as well as a military base for the spread of aggression and grief", he said.

The president added that since February 24, 750 different cruise missiles were launched from the Russia-occupied Crimea at Ukrainian cities and communities.

"They destroyed at least hundreds of civilian objects, schools, universities, ordinary residential buildings, hospitals. Ukraine's restoration of control over the peninsula will be a historic anti-war step in Europe. It will restore security and justice, and reintegrate Crimea into the modern world. This will allow every participant of the Crimean Platform to tell relatives and friends that they can be proud of us precisely as peacekeepers", Zelenskyy said.

He emphasized that Crimea is not just some territory for Ukraine.

"It is not a chip in the geopolitical game, as it is for a terrorist state. For Ukraine, Crimea is part of our people, society, and community of people, to whom we guarantee freedom and return to modernity", the president concluded.