KYIV. Aug 24 (Interfax) - Ukraine is breaking all the chains that tied it to the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko said.
"The main thing, my dear people, is that we have chosen our own path of development and have no right to turn off it in favor of our external enemies and their agents within our country. [...] We are breaking all the chains that tie us to the Russian Empire, to the Soviet Union," Poroshenko said at a military parade in central Kyiv on Friday on the occasion of the 27th anniversary of Ukraine's independence.
The main task of the government and the current generation is to make independence irreversible and turn Ukraine into a great and strong country, "with no prospect of returning to the zone of Russian influence," Poroshenko said.
"Ukraine must rely on its own strength and rigorously protect its national interests. We must boost our country's independence with concrete steps," he said.
The president also announced his intention to present a bill enshrining the country's course toward Euro-Atlantic integration into its constitution.
"I will insist on the constitutional consolidation of our aspiration to join the European Union and enter NATO. Lawyers have found the formula of the best and quickest way to do so. And my bill to that effect will be registered before the Verkhovna Rada opens the fall session on September 4," Poroshenko said.
Politicians will work "day and night" to get it passed, he said.