Zelenskiy attends funeral of independent Ukraine's first president

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2 年前

STORY: Kravchuk, a former Soviet Union chairman and first president of an independent Ukraine, died on May 10 at the age of 88.

Ukraine's national movement gained strength in the late 1980s, culminating in a December 1991 referendum in which more than 90% of voters chose independence.

Kravchuk was elected president the same day.

The first lady, Olena Zelenska, made one of her rare public appearances since the outbreak of the war, paying tribute to Kravchuk together with her husband.

Petro Poroshenko, fifth president of Ukraine, paid tribute to Kravchuk.

"Ukraine and the Ukrainians have surprised the world. And the renewal of Ukraine’s independence, which Kravchuk launched, he contributed to this in full," said Poroshenko, who was president from 2014 to 2019.

Poroshenko added that he was sad that Kravchuk did not live to see "our victory over Russia."

Several other high-ranking politicians and religious leaders paid their tributes to Kravchuk, including Kyiv's mayor Vitaly Klitschko.

Kravchuk was born near Rivne in western Ukraine on Jan. 10, 1934