Kyiv marked its independence from the Soviet Union at a very tense moment in the long war. While Ukrainian forces are advancing in Russia, Russian forces are fighting to gain ground in eastern Ukraine.
The exchange of 115 prisoners of war from each side comes about two weeks after Ukrainian forces launched a surprise offensive in Russia’s Kursk region.
It is the United Arab Emirates that brokered the agreement, and announced the release on Saturday. Both sides in the conflict have confirmed the exchange, and Zelenskyj thanked the Emirates for their role.
Promised retribution
Zelenskyy posted a video of himself standing in a hilly, wooded area said to be near where Ukraine launched its shock attack on August 6.
– What the enemy brought to our country has now returned home, he said, adding that Russia will “learn what retaliation is.”
He referred to President Vladimir Putin as a “sick man from Red Square who keeps threatening everyone with the red button”, a reference to Russian threats and insinuations about the use of nuclear weapons.
Zelenskyj said that one of the goals of Kyiv’s advance in the Kursk region is to show the Russians whether it is the occupation of Ukraine’s territories or the protection of its own population that is most important to President Vladimir Putin.
He also maintained that another purpose is to prevent Russian attacks in the north and against the big city of Sumy.
The authorities in Kyiv also want to withdraw Russian reserves from eastern Ukraine, which they hope the offensive can contribute to.
The tone
In Russia, President Vladimir Putin had a meeting with army chief Valery Gerasimov, and the Kremlin said they had discussed “combating the enemy forces invading the Kursk region and measures to destroy them.”
The Kremlin’s use of words broke with previous statements that have downplayed the Ukrainian surprise attack.
Recently, Ukrainian Defense Chief Oleksandr Syrskyj stated that more than 1,260 square kilometers and 93 Russian villages had been captured, but military observers believe that the area actually controlled by Ukraine is somewhat smaller.
For comparison wrote Aftenposten recently that the Russian conquests in eastern Ukraine amount to around 490 square kilometers since June 1.
Five killed
As independence celebrations continued, authorities in Kyiv said a Russian attack on a residential area in the town of Kostjantynivka had killed five people. The site is close to the front line in the Donetsk region in the east of the country.
AFP news agency’s reporter witnessed a young boy and his dog walk up to a corpse, covered by a sheet, on the side of the road and watch as rescuers rushed to remove it.
People hugged each other next to another body under a silver sheet, before emergency services removed it in a black body bag.
Ukraine has also carried out evacuations from the center of Pokrovsk, fearing that the city will fall to advancing Russian forces.
New weapon
In his speech on Saturday, Zelenskyj also said that Ukraine has carried out a successful attack against Russian forces with a new type of drone.
– Today we used our new weapon in combat for the first time, a weapon in a completely new class, the Ukrainian missile drone Palianytsha. It was successful, Zelenskyy said.
He did not give further details, but added that “the enemy was hit” and thanked developers and producers. The term “missile drone” may indicate that it is something in between a drone and a guided missile weapon, perhaps a kind of simplified cruise missile.
Duda i Kyiv
Polish President Andrzej Duda arrived in Kyiv by train early Saturday on the occasion of the independence celebrations. It is seen as a symbolic statement of support from one of Ukraine’s most important allies.
Videos released by his office showed him being received by Ukrainian officials and later participating in a ceremony at the Ukrainian Fallen Memorial Wall.
Duda’s visit to Kyiv, his fifth since February 2022, sends a message that Warsaw’s support for Ukraine remains strong, even though the war is in its third year.
Zelenskyj also spoke to German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz, and briefed him on the situation on the battlefield. In the conversation, the German Prime Minister confirmed his “continued and unwavering” support for Ukraine, according to a spokesperson for the German government, according to the Reuters news agency.
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2024-08-24 17:20:04
