President Zelensky orders country to fly flags and wear blue-and-yellow ribbons for Unity Day on February 16
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has declared February 16 – when the US claimed Russia might “invade” Ukraine – a day of national unity. In a decree signed on Monday, he ordered the playing of the national anthem and display of flags and flag ribbons around the country.
“It is said that February 16 will be the day of the attack. We will make it a day of unity,” Zelensky said on Monday evening in an address to Ukrainians. “On this day, we will fly our national flags, put on blue-and-yellow ribbons and show our unity to the entire world.”
Zelensky’s comments about the date of the “invasion” – quoted by some US outlets at face value – reportedly triggered a sell-off on the US stock market and a rush on gold and crude oil, prompting the president’s office to clarify that he had said it “with irony.”
Didn’t he just say there was no sign of any attack and people should just go about their daily lives?
— BW (@abcdbandit2017) February 14, 2022
By the time of the speech, Zelensky had already signed presidential decree 53/2022 on “urgent measures to consolidate Ukrainian society and strengthen its resilience in the face of growing hybrid threats.”
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