Comment This story has been updated. KYIV — With a mixture of prudence, exuberance and, above all, defiance, Ukrainians on Wednesday took time out from their existential battle with Russian invasion forces to celebrate their 31st year as a free nation, marking their first Independence Day since the Kremlin launched a full-scale war here six months ago. Warnings from Ukrainian officials and US intelligence agencies that Russia was poised to mar the holiday by launching missile strikes were largely unrealized, although the violence of the war continued in some parts of the country. Along the shifting front lines to the east and south, the Ukrainians faced rocket and artillery attacks near Dnipro and the Eastern Donbas region. At least 21 people were killed by Russian rockets on a passenger train in the town of Chaplyne, about 60 miles east of the Dnieper River, officials said, and dozens more were injured. Communities in the Eastern Donbas region faced strikes throughout the day. In Kyiv, the capital, residents largely heeded President Volodymyr Zelensky’s warnings of a potentially “disgusting” attack on the city and spent much of the day at home. Many shops were closed and traffic was light. Peeled church bells greeted the day in many neighborhoods — a symbol of freedom and, for many, resistance and survival. “Morally, the Ukrainian people have already won,” Metropolitan Epiphanius I, the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, said in a homily at the golden-domed St. Michael’s Cathedral. “But you still have to [achieve] victory over the assailant, drive out the invaders.” By evening, after an unsettled afternoon and a surprise visit from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is a favorite in Ukraine, Kiev residents poured into the streets in greater numbers, a show of defiance against Russia simply by going outdoors. “Glory to Ukraine, glory to the heroes,” said a group of young Ukrainians, two of the women literally wrapped in their country’s blue and yellow flag as they tossed celebratory shots of a clear liquid just off Khreschatyk Street, Kyiv’s main boulevard . where dozens of wrecked Russian tanks were lined up as a macabre celebratory parade. The crowd gathered around the broken war machines had swelled from hundreds in the morning to more than a thousand by sunset. They brought Ukrainian flags, ice cream cones and selfie sticks and largely ignored the air raid sirens that have become common since Kyiv itself has not been hit by a missile since June 26. On Independence Day, Ukraine celebrates the state that Putin failed to destroy One downtown pizza joint nominally waved red alert by serving each pie in a box, but most customers grabbed a table and opened the containers. “There were too many sirens. people have to work and eat,” said Igor Vodianu, a waiter at the Very Well cafe a few blocks from Kyiv’s Independence Square, popularly known as the Maidan, where most patrons didn’t look up from their frozen chicken soup when a siren sounded. . Ukraine’s national anthem could be heard in many corners as the day grew more festive, often emanating from open shop doors, sometimes from car windows and once from a speaker mounted on a horse-drawn wagon. World leaders paid tribute to Ukraine’s fight against its invading neighbor throughout the day. In Brussels, the European Commission lit up its headquarters in blue and yellow. French President Emmanuel Macron called for August 24 to be a “day of hope” in a video message. Alexander Lukashenko, the dictator of Belarus, however, failed to charm Ukrainians with his official congratulations, in which he expressed hopes that the current conditions would not spoil the two countries’ “good neighborly relations”. Noting that Lukashenko, who is seen as Putin’s puppet here, allowed Russia to use his country as a staging ground for its invasion, one Ukrainian official scathingly dismissed Lukashenko’s good wishes as a “blood-soaked clown.” In Washington, President Biden announced nearly $3 billion in additional military aid, including air defense systems, artillery systems and ammunition. He called the holiday, which marks Ukraine’s liberation from the Soviet Union in 1991, “bittersweet,” marking huge numbers of dead, injured and displaced. “But six months of relentless attacks have only strengthened the Ukrainians’ pride in themselves,” Biden said. Battle for Kyiv: Ukrainian bravery, Russian blunders combine to save capital Johnson, whose efforts to fund Ukraine’s military and buy off its people have made him a local hero to many — you can find Johnson’s blonde engine Photoshopped into the logo of Ukraine’s national railway — made a personal surprise at capital city. Johnson, in the final weeks of his tenure after resigning amid pressure from his Conservative Party colleagues following a series of scandals, made a surprise visit to Kyiv after being among the first world leaders to back economic and military aid to Ukraine . Britain has given more defense weapons to Ukraine, including almost 7,000 anti-tank missiles, than any other European country. Johnson and Zelensky speak often and are really close, according to officials in each country. Ukraine is a war zone. And a place where Boris Johnson can get away from it all. Zelensky, who was awarded Ukraine’s Johnson Order of Freedom, praised his counterpart in a joint appearance before they walked together on the Maidan as an air raid siren sounded. “We are fortunate to have this friend,” the president said. Elsewhere in the city, protesters lined the fence in front of the shuttered Russian Embassy with graphic posters of destruction caused by Russian bombing around Ukraine. “Feeling guilty is not enough,” read a sign in Russian posted at the front gate. Yury Fedorenko, a Ukrainian soldier who organized the protest, said the group he works with has been organizing such events for six years, following Russia’s invasion of Crimea. They have assembled back-channel online sources for Russian-language readers that attract more than 1 million visitors a month, Fedorenko said. “We know there are a lot of people who don’t support Putin,” he said. “They need to do more than feel bad for us.” Just beyond the gate, on what diplomatic protocol says remains a piece of Russian territory, was another sign of Ukrainian national sentiment: Dozens of cocoa bags lining the path to the embassy entrance, dumped there by their owners dogs in Kyiv. Serhiy Morgunov in Kyiv contributed to this report.
War in Ukraine: What you need to know
The last: Grain shipments from Ukraine are being accelerated under the agreement reached by Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations in July. Russia’s blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports had sent food prices skyrocketing and sparked fears of more famine in the Middle East and Africa. At least 18 ships, including cargoes of wheat, corn and sunflower oil, have departed. The battle: The conflict on the ground continues as Russia uses its heavy artillery advantage to pound Ukrainian forces, which have at times managed to put up stiff resistance. In the south, Ukraine’s hopes rest on liberating the Russian-held region of Kherson, and eventually Crimea, which Russia seized in 2014. Fears of a disaster at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant persist as both sides accuse each other of they bomb. The weapons: Western arms supplies are helping Ukraine slow Russian advances. US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Missile Systems (HIMARS) allow Ukrainian forces to strike further behind Russian lines against Russian artillery. Russia has used a range of weapons against Ukraine, some of which have drawn the attention and concern of analysts. Photos: Washington Post photographers have been on the ground since the start of the war — here are some of their strongest works. How you can help: Here are ways those in the US can help support the Ukrainian people, as well as the donations people have made around the world. Read his full coverage Russia-Ukraine crisis. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for updates and exclusive video.
