Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the UK for reopening its embassy in Kyiv, making it the twenty-first country to resume diplomatic missions in the capital of the war-torn country. 

Earlier on Friday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that the nation would open its embassy in Kyiv next week, saying that Britain and its allies will not watch silently while Russian President Vladimir Putin continues his onslaught on Ukraine. 

Johnson also visited the war-torn nation, taking in the atrocities at Bucha, the city near the capital, and noting that Russian actions there aren’t far from genocide. 

Also Read | Moscow says 1 dead, 27 missing after Moskva warship sunk: Report

Since Russian forces withdrew from the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions, focusing on an assault from the east, and concentrated push for Mariupol, the European Union has also decided to resume diplomatic missions in the Ukrainian capital. 

However, even after troop withdrawal, Kyiv did come under Russian attack, as airstrikes hit the capital and then the western city Lviv. 

The Ukrainian president also updated the nation that normal life was returning to areas which had been freed from Russian control. Zelensky said, “The return of Ukraine to cities and communities means the return of life in the full sense of these words”, adding, “I believe that such a return will take place in the south of our country and in the east of Ukraine. In all areas where degradation, destruction and death have been brought under the Russian flag.” 

Also Read | Europe balks at strict Russian gas sanctions

Along with demining, many Ukrainian settlements are seeing humanitarian operations take place. Medical and educational facilities are being re-established, with financial institutions returning as well. Zelensky noted in his address how transportation and electricity were being restored to settlements too. 

In January 2022, the UK had begun withdrawing its staff from the Kyiv embassy, as the threat of Russian invasion grew more imminent with troops gathering at Ukraine’s borders.