“High price” of independence

kyiv, Ukraine (AP) — A somber atmosphere pervaded Ukraine’s 33rd anniversary of independence yesterday as the nation’s struggle to repel a full-scale Russian invasion entered its 30th month.

No fireworks, parades or concerts were planned and instead Ukrainians marked the day with tributes to civilians and soldiers killed in the war.

Ukrainians flooded social media with messages of gratitude and support, greeting each other and thanking soldiers on the front lines.

In this demonstration of unity, everyone recognizes that the two and a half years have been hard, and fatigue is growing.

“Independence is the silence we experience when we lose our people,” President Volodymyr Zelensky told the nation.

“Independence goes down into the shelters during an air raid, only to endure and rise again to tell the enemy: ‘You will achieve nothing,'” the president added.

In central kyiv, people marched wearing festive “vishivankas,” traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirts.

Some took photos with the yellow and blue national flag in front of a sign reading “I love Ukraine” near a makeshift memorial to fallen soldiers.

Many people came to the capital from different regions of Ukraine for the occasion.

Ukraine declared its independence from the Soviet Union on August 24, 1991.

“We are able to celebrate this holiday thanks to our soldiers, thanks to them we are alive,” said Oksana Stavnicha, who arrived in the Ukrainian capital from Vinnytsia with her husband and seven-year-old daughter.

They planned to lay flowers to honor the fallen Ukrainian soldiers.

“The price of our independence is very high and every day many men give their lives for it,” he added.

Zelensky Message

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has sent a message to his fellow citizens on the occasion of their independence.

Spread

He noted that the war, which was launched by Russia on February 24, 2022, has spread to its own territory.

Fruits

“Those who seek to sow evil on our land will reap its fruits on their own,” he said, referring to Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region earlier this month.

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