Ukraine's 33rd Independence Day: Reflecting on Sacrifice and Unity

Ukraine's 33rd Independence Day was marked by solemn commemorations as the nation continues its struggle against Russia's invasion. Ukrainians paid tribute to fallen soldiers and civilian victims, conveying messages of gratitude and solidarity. President Zelenskyy emphasized the high cost of independence and the relentless fight for freedom.

A sombre atmosphere pervaded Ukraine's 33rd Independence Day on Saturday, as the nation's fight to repel Russia's full-scale invasion reached a 30-month milestone. No fireworks, parades or concerts were planned, and instead Ukrainians marked the day with commemorations for civilians and soldiers killed in the war.

Ukrainians flooded social media with messages of gratitude and support, thanking the soldiers on the front lines. During this outpouring of unity, there's a shared acknowledgment that the two-and-a-half years have been tough, with fatigue increasingly setting in.

"Independence is the silence we experience when we lose our people," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said to the nation. "Independence descends into the shelter during an air raid, only to endure and rise again and again to tell the enemy: You will achieve nothing.'" In central Kyiv, people paraded in festive "vyshyvankas," Ukrainian traditional embroidered shirts. Some took pictures with the national blue-yellow flag near a makeshift memorial dedicated to the fallen soldiers.

Many came from regions around Ukraine to the capital for the occasion. Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union on August 24, 1991.

"We can celebrate this holiday thanks to our soldiers — because of them we live," said Oksana Stavnycha, who came from Vinnytsia with her 7-year-old daughter and husband. They planned to lay flowers to honour Ukraine's fallen soldiers.

"The price of our independence is very high, and every day many men give up their lives for it." Zelenskyy noted that the war, which Russia launched on February 24, 2022, has now spread to its own territory.

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

The president symbolically recorded his address in Sumy, near the Russian border, where Ukrainian forces crossed into Russia on August 6.

"913 days ago, Russia launched its war against us, partly through Sumy region," Zelenskyy noted. "They violated not only sovereign borders but also the boundaries of cruelty and common sense, driven by an insatiable desire to destroy us." Ukraine's surprise incursion into Russia's Kursk region added a new front to the conflict, countering Russia's advances in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region. Ukraine seized considerable Russian territory, capturing hundreds of soldiers, moves that may affect the war's trajectory.

"And those who sought to turn our lands into a buffer zone should now worry that their own country doesn't become a buffer federation," Zelenskyy said. "This is how independence responds." Ukraine's military claims to hold 1,200 square kilometers (480 square miles) of Russian territory in Kursk and launched drone attacks striking strategic bridges and airfields.

Ukraine's top military commander, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, honored soldiers in Kursk region with military awards. "Our independence is in our blood," he posted on Telegram. "In the blood that flows in our veins, in the blood that our heroes shed for their native land."

As Ukraine presses its offensive into Russia, it is also evacuating residents from Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, with Russian forces now 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the strategic city.

Residents of Pokrovsk registered for evacuation at a central school Friday and boarded trains to safer areas.

Ihor Kysil, a soldier from the 110th Brigade, wounded a month ago in Pokrovsk, stood in Kyiv's Independence Square holding hands with his wife. "This day is about our freedom," he said near the makeshift memorial for fallen soldiers. "Every life is priceless," his wife, Yuliia Fedenko, added. "We value every minute of the time we have." "These are the golden days," Kysil noted, knowing he will return to the front line after rehabilitation.

(With inputs from agencies.)