Ambassadors and members of the Ukrainian community in Romania celebrated Ukraine's Independence Day in Bucharest on Monday with dances, a photo exhibition, traditional songs and speeches highlighting the resilience of the neighboring people and their desire for peace.

'This anniversary holds special significance. For the fifth consecutive year, we are marking Ukraine's National Day and gathering in this square near the Embassy of Ukraine amid the brutal war of aggression unleashed and waged by the Russian Federation: 1,643 days of full-scale war, the largest war in Europe since World War II. Ukrainian villages, residential areas, energy facilities and other types of civilian infrastructure are being destroyed by daily attacks. Civilians are constantly attacked, targeted and terrorized, with thousands killed or injured,' Ukrainian ambassador in Bucharest Ihor Prokopchuk said.

He said Ukraine's spirit of resilience is 'extraordinary' and recalled Ukraine's aspiration to join the European Union, as well as his country's contribution to the security of the EU and NATO space.

'We are confident in the collective strength of Ukraine and its partners who stand by it, on the right side of history,' Prokopchuk said.

The ambassador thanked the Romanian Government, Parliament, business community and civil society for standing with Ukraine.

Prokopchuk said that since the beginning of the war, approximately five million Ukrainians have been granted temporary protection status in the European Union. Of these, around 200,000 Ukrainians have received such status in Romania. The diplomat explained that this does not necessarily mean that they have to remain in Romania. 'Some have returned [to Ukraine], others have gone elsewhere, but this is where they received temporary protection status,' the ambassador said.

Secretary of State with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ana Tinca paid tribute to the Ukrainians living under wartime conditions.

'On such occasions, we usually recall history and pay tribute to the heroes who built a nation in the past. But today, first and foremost, we are thinking of Ukraine's contemporary heroes, who are many: the soldiers defending the front line with unprecedented courage, the doctors saving lives in the midst of the conflict, the teachers keeping schools open and the parents sending their children to school even though they know they will spend their lessons in shelters, all the ordinary people in Ukraine who keep the country functioning under missile attacks,' she said.

The Foreign Ministry official also mentioned those who have had to leave their homes to escape the war, whether elsewhere within Ukraine or abroad.

'They refuse to be victims, they continue to support the struggle for independence and they continue to keep the spirit of Ukraine alive,' she said.

Tinca said that the history being created by these people is one 'of courage, dignity and solidarity.'

'Ukraine is not fighting alone. Ukraine is supported by an impressive global network of friends, people and nations, and Romania is proud to be among them. Romania has stood by Ukraine since the first day of the war, and we will continue to support Ukraine until victory and until a just and lasting peace is achieved,' the Secretary of State concluded. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Oana Ghita; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)