Ukraine will celebrate a bloody independence day - at the same time as six months of fighting
The Ukrainian government has warned citizens not to hold large events on Independence Day.
The US Department of Defense has issued a security warning that Russia is "escalating" its attempts to launch missile attacks against Ukrainian civilian infrastructure and government facilities, and has advised its citizens to leave the country
Tali Goldstein
08/23/2022
Tuesday, August 23, 2022, 12:55 p.m. Updated: 1:11 p.m.
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On video: an exhibition of Russian tanks taken as spoils of war is displayed on the streets of Kyiv on the eve of Independence Day (Photo: Reuters)
Ukrainian Independence Day will not be celebrated this year in the traditional celebrations held in its honor, due to the fact that Ukraine is at war with Russia.
The Ukrainian parliament pledged on August 24, 1991 to separate from the Soviet Union;
On August 24, 2021, Russia invaded Ukraine - and tomorrow the Ukrainians will celebrate 31 years since their independence - and exactly six months into the war.
Instead of the traditional Soviet-style celebrations - a practice that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says is "wasteful" - the Ukrainian army stationed a convoy of Russian tanks and other equipment destroyed during the fighting in a square in the capital, Kyiv.
Demonstration against Russia in Kiev (Photo: Reuters)
Moreover, the Ukrainian government warned citizens not to hold large events in the main cities ahead of Independence Day.
"Russia may try to carry out a particularly brutal operation," Zelensky said on Saturday.
Mikheil Podoliak, a senior adviser to Zelenskiy, said that Russia will do everything in its power to make the citizens of Ukraine miserable.
"Remember what they said when they marched in Kiev only three days after the invasion. And here we are, six months later, proving that Russia is weak compared to Ukraine. They will want revenge," he said.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Culture has confirmed that there will be no public celebrations to mark Independence Day.
The current military government also prohibits large gatherings.
Instead, the Ukrainian military will hold private flag-raising ceremonies, and monuments in the capital will be lit up in blue and yellow - the colors of the flag.
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Russian armored vehicles destroyed in the fighting are displayed in a square in Kiev (Photo: Reuters)
The US Department of Defense has issued a security warning that Russia is "escalating" its attempts to launch missile attacks against Ukrainian civilian infrastructure and government facilities.
This is the first warning issued by the US Embassy in Kyiv in recent months.
The alert does not specify the locations that Russia is targeting, but advises American citizens to leave Ukraine if they can do so safely.
"The United States Embassy urges all American citizens to leave Ukraine immediately, and use local transportation options if these are safe," the embassy website reads.
"The security situation throughout Ukraine is tense and volatile and conditions may deteriorate without prior warning."
"Given Russia's history in Ukraine, we fear the possibility of a continuing threat of Russian attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure," an American source told Reuters.
Russian tanks in Donetsk (Photo: Reuters)
Another reason for the escalation of tensions between the parties is the death on Saturday of Daria Dogina, a journalist and the daughter of a far-right and nationalist close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Dogina was driving a car on her way to Moscow when the car exploded and caught fire.
Dugina's father, Alexander Dugin, known as "Putin's Rasputin", was driving behind his daughter and witnessed her horrible death.
Yesterday, the Russian intelligence service, FSB, accused a Ukrainian agent, according to him, named Natalya Vobek, of the assassination. The service published a video of her following Dugina and escaping to neighboring Estonia. Following the publication, many Russians called for revenge for the death of the "martyred saint." Ukraine denied any connection to the incident.
Daria Dugin with her father Alexander Dugin and the alleged assassin Natalia Vobek (photo: official website, from Twitter)
Towards the six month mark of the war, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) released a statement on the impact of the war on millions of civilians.
"Millions of people are trapped while the fighting in eastern Ukraine continues. They are paying the heaviest price of this war. Some have had no access to humanitarian aid since February, and are forced to see the destruction of their properties and infrastructure vital to their survival.
"Many may have forgotten that the war in Ukraine did not start on February 24 For the people in the East, who have been living on the front line for the past eight years.
Six months after the unprecedented escalation, no one needs a reminder that this conflict is far from over - and continues to affect the lives of dictionaries.
About 18 million people now need assistance in Ukraine, including seven million displaced within the country."
President of the United States Joe Biden with refugees from Ukraine in Warsaw (Photo: Reuters)
-More than
11 million
people have left Ukraine since February 24.
-
6.7 million
refugees from Ukraine are now in Europe, and
3.8 million
people have registered for temporary protection programs across Europe.
-
4.5 million
people returned to Ukraine since February 28.
-
About 3%
of the displaced within Ukraine live in temporary centers that are not prepared for winter.
- At least
13,000
civilians have been injured in Ukraine since February 24 and more than
5,500
civilians have been killed - but
the numbers are likely much higher.
-Approximately
200,000
applications for compensation for residential properties that were damaged or destroyed in Ukraine were submitted to the Ukrainian government.
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