Zelenski attends the hoisting of the Ukrainian flag in one of the “liberated” areas.

The President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, on Wednesday paid a symbolic visit to the town of Izium, located in the Kharkov region and recently “liberated” from Russian troops, where he attended the official flag-raising ceremony.

“Before, looking up, we always looked for the blue sky, for the sun. Now, especially in the occupied territories, we are looking for only one thing – the flag of our country,” Zelenski has said in the presence of military “heroes,” according to his office.

Raising the flag implies for Ukraine to assume that “the enemy is gone.” Kiev estimates at more than 4,000 square kilometers the territory it has won from Russian forces in eastern Ukraine during these last weeks.

Zelensky acknowledged Wednesday that the last few months in these areas have been “extremely difficult,” but emphasized that even if Russia manages to “temporarily” occupy some areas, it will not succeed in gaining control of the Ukrainian people.