KIEV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the war in Ukraine began with Crimea and must end with its liberation. The President said  in his nightly video address on Tuesday that "Crimea is Ukrainian, and we will never give it up." As long as Crimea is under occupation, the Black Sea region "cannot be safe," he said. 

"As long as Russia is allowed to exploit our peninsula as a military base, there won't be a stable and long-lasting peace in many nations bordering the Mediterranean Sea.

The liberation of Crimea must mark the conclusion of this Russian war against Ukraine and the entire free Europe, Zelensky said.

One person was killed earlier on Tuesday when several explosions struck the Saky military base near Novofedorivka in the west of Crimea.  While Russia has downplayed the blasts, a senior Ukrainian adviser refuted Kiev's involvement.

Although Crimea was formally taken by Russia in 2014 following an unconstitutional referendum, it still technically belongs to Ukraine. Zelensky, however, made no mention of the explosions in his speech.

 Zelensky emphasized, there is a lot of attention these days to the topic of Crimea, which is right. " Considering that Crimea is Ukrainian and we will never abandon it. We won't soon forget that the takeover of Crimea marked the start of Russia's conflict with Ukraine. Our peninsula, which has always been and will be one of the best places in Europe, has been transformed by Russia into one of the most hazardous places.

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