Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky paid tribute to his country on Friday as Ukraine marked the first anniversary of Russia's all-out invasion.
"It was a year of pain, sorrow, faith, and unity," he wrote in English on Twitter.
One year ago, the country had made a choice, Zelensky said.
"Not a white flag, but the blue and yellow one. Not fleeing, but facing. Resisting & fighting," he posted.
Zelensky hailed his nation and its people for fighting back against Russia over the past year and vowed victory on the one-year anniversary of the war.
Zelensky described it as a "furious year of invincibility" in a statement released on social media.
"Its main result is that we endured. We were not defeated. And we will do everything to gain victory this year!"
"Ukraine has inspired the world. Ukraine has united the world," Zelensky said, hailing cities that have become bywords for alleged Russian war crimes like Bucha, Irpin and Mariupol as "capitals of invincibility."
"We will never rest until the Russian murderers face deserved punishment".
Zelensky went on to give a speech at Kyiv's St Sophia Cathedral, where he handed out service medals to soldiers.
Those attending held a minute's silence for the Ukrainian victims of the war, according to a dpa reporter at the scene.
High-security measures were in place for the event, which was held in sub-zero temperatures, with the area widely cordoned off.
In the early hours of February 24, 2022, Russian forces invaded Ukrainian territory on multiple fronts. Russian President Vladimir Putin said he wanted the "demilitarization and de-Nazification" of Ukraine.
Last year, Moscow annexed four territories in the east and south of Ukraine, in violation of international law.
Together with the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed in 2014, Russia currently occupies around 18% of Ukraine's territory.
