Public gatherings have been banned in Kyiv, while a curfew has been imposed in Kharkiv
Ukraine today celebrates 31 years since its independence from the Soviet Union, while it also marks six months since Russia invaded the country.
The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskysaid that today is an important day for Ukrainians and “for our enemy”, while calling on citizens to heed the authorities’ warnings and observe the curfew as there are likely to be “obnoxious Russian provocations”.
Public gatherings have been banned in Kyiv, while a curfew has been imposed in Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine, which is close to the front line.
“We have many activities planned, which will emphasize the road we have traveled. We have been through it together – Ukrainians in Ukraine, throughout our country – free and temporarily occupied, because our people are fighting everywhere“, underlined Zelensky.
“We are fighting against the most horrific threat to our state but also at a time when we have achieved the highest degree of national unity“, added the Ukrainian president.
Ukrainian authorities have lined up the carcasses of burned-out Russian tanks and armored personnel carriers in central Kiev as war trophies, in a sign of defiance of the enemy.
Ukraine’s military has urged citizens to take air raid warning sirens seriously.
“The Russian occupiers continue to launch air and missile attacks against civilian targets on Ukrainian soil. Don’t ignore warning sirens“, the army general staff said in a statement early this morning.
The US also estimated that Russia might take advantage of the day to launch attacks against Ukrainian infrastructure and government buildings. In fact, the American embassy in Kyiv yesterday Tuesday called on the Americans who remain in Ukraine to leave the country.
Deputy US Ambassador to the UN Richard Mills warned from the floor of the UN Security Council specifically Russia that “as we approach Ukraine’s Independence Day, the world is watching.”
“It goes without saying (…) please do not bomb schools, hospitals, orphanages or homes“, he emphasized.
Thousands of civilians have been killed since the war, and more than a third of Ukraine’s 41 million people have been forced to flee their homes. Besides, cities have been turned into ruins, while turbulence has also been caused in the international markets.
At this time, the conflict seems to have reached a dead end, with no prospect of peace talks on the horizon.
In addition to Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, Russian forces have extended their control over areas of southern Ukraine, including the coasts of the Black and Azov Seas, as well as large parts of the Donbass region comprising the Luhansk provinces and Donetsk.
Ukraine gained independence from the Soviet Union in August 1991after a failed coup in Moscow and after a large majority of Ukrainians voted in a referendum in favor of the country’s independence.
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