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Ukraine marks 2nd Independence Day after Russian invasion

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hailed his nation’s spirit and defiance in holding out against Russian forces in a rallying speech on Thursday marking Ukraine’s Independence Day. The anniversary was celebrated quietly, and fell exactly 18 months after Moscow’s full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022 which has killed tens of thousands of people, forced millions from their homes and devastated towns across Ukraine. The Associated Press has the story:

Ukraine marks 2nd Independence Day after Russian invasion

Newslooks- KYIV, Ukraine (AP)

Ukraine on Thursday marked its second Independence Day since Russia’s full-scale invasion, with officials vowing to keep up their fight to drive out the Kremlin’s forces and local people remembering their fallen loved ones.

People look at fragments of Russian rockets which have been on display on the central Khreshchatyk boulevard in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, as Ukrainians mark Independence Day. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

The national holiday coincided with the war’s 18-month milestone, giving a somber mood to the commemorations.

“We remember everyone who gave their lives for freedom and independence, for the free future of Ukraine,” Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a social media post.

People look at a large column of burnt out and captured Russian tanks and infantry carriers which have been on display on the central Khreshchatyk boulevard as Ukrainians mark Independence Day in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

He said that an independent Ukraine is “what we are fighting for.”

In the northeastern Kharkiv region, families visited a cemetery where fallen Ukrainian soldiers are buried.

Kateryna Krotchenko, the mother of Serhii Krotchenko who was killed near Bakhmut, cleaned his grave.

Kateryna and Oleh light a candle at a cemetery in front of their son’s grave, who died fighting in the war as Ukrainians mark Independence Day in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

“He was an ordinary boy who loved life and dreamed of something,” she told The Associated Press.

“Therefore, he did not accept the fact that war had come to our land and decided to (sign up) voluntarily,” she said. “We agreed with his decision. We didn’t think it would be like this.”

People look at a large column of burnt out and captured Russian tanks and infantry carriers which have been on display on the central Khreshchatyk boulevard as Ukrainians mark Independence Day, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Ukraine was fighting for “the values we all stand for”: sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.

That battle has earned the support of foreign allies, especially NATO alliance member countries that have provided Kyiv with sophisticated new weaponry. The new weapons have allowed Ukraine to launch a grinding counteroffensive.

People look at equipment belonging to captured Russian soldiers on display on the central Khreshchatyk boulevard as Ukrainians mark Independence Day, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

The holiday was observed against a backdrop of continued fighting.

Ukrainian intelligence units together with the Ukrainian navy landed on the western side of Russia-occupied Crimea to strike at Russian military assets there, according to Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andrii Yusov.

A woman wears a flower hair garland as people look at a large column of burnt out and captured Russian tanks and infantry carriers which have been on display on the central Khreshchatyk boulevard as Ukrainians mark Independence Day, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

In Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, meanwhile, a Russian strike severely injured a 7-year-old girl whose home was hit, Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said.

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