Ukraine was “reborn” when Russia invaded six months ago, President Volodomyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday as his country observed an independence day marked by fears that Moscow may step up its attacks.
The festivities were subdued, with mass gatherings canceled and Ukrainians across the country told to be vigilant in case Russia used the occasion to unleash fresh strikes. But the symbolism of the nation celebrating its identity six months after Russian tanks rolled across the border in an effort to erase it was evident in Zelenskyy’s address to his compatriots.
“On Feb. 24, we were told: you have no chance. On Aug. 24, we say: Happy Independence Day, Ukraine!” Zelenskyy said in a pre-recorded video, which aired early on the day that marks 31 years of Ukraine’s independence from Kremlin-dominated Soviet rule.
The country’s perseverance throughout the six months of conflict has shaped the nation like nothing before, the 44-year-old leader told Ukrainians as he stood in Kyiv’s historic Maidan Square, wearing his signature military slacks.
“We finally became truly one,” he said. “A new nation that emerged on Feb. 24 at 4 am. Not born, but reborn.”
Zelenskyy warned earlier that Russia may unleash “repugnant provocations and brutal strikes” on Wednesday. The United States also said that it had information that “Russia is stepping up efforts to launch strikes against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and government facilities in the coming days.”
Local authorities — from Kharkiv in the east to Lviv in the west — have warned people to pay more attention to air raid sirens, respect curfews and work from home, if possible. Some sirens sounded in an otherwise quiet Kyiv early on the dual anniversary, but perhaps the most potent sign of the war in Ukraine’s capital was the procession of burnt-out Russian military vehicles displayed defiantly in the heart of the capital.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
