- Zelenskiy says the Russian assault revived the nation’s spirit
- August 24 marks the 1991 independence from Soviet rule
- Public celebrations canceled in Kyiv for fear of an attack
- Kyiv: Russian missiles land in west far from front lines
- The United States and the United Kingdom promise more arms deliveries to Ukraine
Kyiv, Aug 24 (Reuters) – Ukraine was “reborn” when Russia invaded six months ago, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday, on the 31st anniversary of Ukraine’s independence from the Moscow-dominated Soviet Union, as he vowed completely expel the Russian forces. .
After days of warnings that Moscow could use Ukraine’s Independence Day to fire more missiles at major urban centers, the second-largest city of Kharkiv was under curfew, following months of frequent shelling.
The anniversary came exactly six months after Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine. Public celebrations on Wednesday were cancelled, but many people marked the day with embroidered shirts typical of the national dress.
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Air raid sirens sounded at least seven times in the capital Kyiv during the day, although there was no attack.
Zelenskiy and his wife joined religious leaders for a service at Kyiv’s 11th-century Saint Sophia Cathedral and laid flowers at a memorial to fallen soldiers.
In an emotional speech to his countrymen, Zelenskiy said Russia’s assault had revived the nation’s spirit.
“A new nation appeared in the world on February 24th at 4 o’clock in the morning. It was not born, but was reborn. A nation that did not cry, or scream, or be afraid. One that did not run away. It was not he gave up. And he didn’t forget it,” he said.
The 44-year-old leader, speaking in front of Kyiv’s central independence monument bearing his battle scars, vowed to take back Russian-held areas of eastern Ukraine, as well as the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annex in 2014.
“We will not sit at the negotiating table out of fear, with a gun pointed at our heads. For us, the most terrible iron is not missiles, planes and tanks, but shackles. Not trenches, but shackles,” he said
In its nightly update, Ukraine’s military high command said Russian air and missile strikes against military and civilian targets alike continued into Wednesday. “Today was rich with anti-aircraft sirens,” he said in a note without elaborating.
Ukrainian forces shot down a Russian drone in the Vinnytsia region while several Russian missiles landed in the Khmelnytskyi area, regional authorities said, both west of Kyiv and hundreds of kilometers from the front lines.
No damage or casualties were reported, and Reuters was unable to verify the accounts.
On Tuesday evening, Zelenskiy warned of the possibility of “disgusting Russian provocations” and on Wednesday, Ukraine’s military urged people to take warnings of airstrikes seriously.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told a meeting of defense ministers in Uzbekistan that Moscow had deliberately slowed down what it referred to as its “special military operation” in Ukraine to avoid civilian casualties. Read more
At a UN Security Council session on Wednesday, Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia reiterated Moscow’s justification for its actions in Ukraine, saying a “special operation” was needed to “denazify and demilitarize” the country to eliminate “obvious” security threats to Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his wife Olena laid flowers at the Wall of Memory of Ukraine’s Fallen Defenders, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, during the Independence Day commemoration in Kyiv , Ukraine, on August 24, 2022. Presidential Press Service of Ukraine via REUTERS
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Moscow’s position has been rejected by Ukraine and the West as a baseless pretext for a war of imperialist conquest.
INCREASE WESTERN SUPPORT
US President Joe Biden announced nearly $3 billion in arms and equipment for Ukraine in Washington’s “biggest tranche of security assistance to date.”
In a surprise visit to Kyiv on Wednesday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also pledged an additional $63.5 million in military support, including 2,000 drones and stray munitions to enable Ukraine’s military to better track and target invading Russian forces. Read more
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told Ukrainians they were an inspiration to the world. “You can count on NATO’s support. For as long as it takes,” he said in a video message.
Russia has made little progress in recent months after its troops were pushed back from Kyiv in the first weeks of the war.
Ukraine’s top military intelligence officer, Kyrylo Budanov, said on Wednesday that Russia’s offensive was slowing due to moral and physical fatigue in its ranks and the “depleted” resource base of Moscow Read more
On the eastern front of the Ukrainian resistance and in shattered cities, some with deserted streets under curfew, fighters and civilians marked Ukraine’s independence day with strong words and the promise of victory. Read more
Ukraine declared independence from the breakup of the Soviet Union in August 1991, and its population voted overwhelmingly for independence in a referendum that December.
MYSTERIOUS EXPLOSION
Russian forces have seized swaths of the south, including the Black Sea and Sea of Azov coasts and large swaths of Luhansk and Donetsk provinces that comprise the eastern Donbas region.
The war has killed thousands of civilians, forced more than a third of Ukraine’s 41 million people from their homes, left cities in ruins and shaken the global economy, creating shortages of staple grains and driving up food prices. the energy
Advanced US missile systems appear to have helped Ukraine strike deep behind front lines in recent months, taking out ammunition dumps and command posts.
In the latest mysterious fire at a Russian military facility, Russian officials said ammunition stored in the south, near the border with Ukraine, spontaneously combusted on Tuesday.
Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of the Belgorod region, blamed the heat for the fire, prompting mockery from Ukraine’s defense ministry on Twitter.
“The five main causes of sudden explosions in Russia are: winter, spring, summer, autumn and smoking,” he said.
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Additional reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Max Hunder, Andrea Shalal, Olzhas Auyezov, John Chalmers, Rami Ayyub and Reuters bureaus; writing by Stephen Coates, Philippa Fletcher and Mark Heinrich; Editing by Jon Boyle, Catherine Evans, Gareth Jones and Hugh Lawson
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