Ukraine Marks Independence Day Six Months Into Russia's Invasion
A woman waves a Ukrainian flag atop a destroyed Russian tank on display at an open-air exhibition of destroyed military equipment of Russian Army in Kyiv.
Ukrainians have celebrated 31 years of independence from the Soviet Union, and also marked six months since Russia invaded the country, in an ongoing conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people, devastated Ukraine’s economy, and turned Russia into a virtual pariah state.
Ukrainians were warned to remain vigilant on August 24 as they celebrated the date in 1991, when the legislature issued a declaration of independence from the U.S.S.R. Just over three months later, more than 90 percent of Ukrainians approved a referendum formalizing the declaration.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, meanwhile, accused of Russia of launching a missile strike that hit the Chaplyne railway station in the southern Dnipropetrovsk region, killing at least 22 people and wounding more than 50.
"Chaplyne is our pain today. As of this moment, there are 22 dead, five of them burned in a railway car," he said in his nightly video address. "Search and rescue operations at the railway station will continue. We will definitely make the occupiers answer for everything they have done. And we will certainly throw out the invaders from our land."
Earlier, acknowledging the heavy toll since the February 24 invasion, Zelenskiy vowed his "reborn" country would fight Russian troops "until the end."
"During these six months, we changed history, changed the world, and changed ourselves... We started to respect ourselves. We understood that despite any help and support, no one but us will fight for our independence. And we united," Zelenskiy said in a recorded address broadcast to the nation.
The commander in chief of Ukraine's armed forces said this week that about 9,000 Ukrainian troops had been killed in six months of fighting.
Kyiv and several other big cities have banned public celebrations amid warnings that Russia would use the occasion to strike civilian and government infrastructure.
In the Ukrainian capital, authorities staged a display of wrecked and captured Russian military vehicles and tanks on Kyiv’s famed Khreshchatyk Street, as a reminder of Moscow's failed attempt to capture the capital.
The invasion has resulted in unprecedented Western sanctions that have pummeled the Russian economy and isolated Moscow internationally. The invasion has also prompted vast amounts of Western aid, support, and weaponry, bolstering Ukrainian defenses.
The United States, the largest single provider of weaponry, announced another $3 billion in new military aid, a mammoth package that puts U.S. assistance at nearly $12 billion since February 24.
"On behalf of all Americans, I congratulate the people of Ukraine on their Independence Day," President Joe Biden said in a statement announcing the package. "The United States of America is committed to supporting the people of Ukraine as they continue the fight to defend their sovereignty.”
In Pictures: Ukraine’s Path To Independence In 1991
1/23Crowds wearing Ukraine's national colors demonstrate in front of the Communist Party headquarters in Kyiv in August 1991. During the Soviet era, expressions of Ukrainian linguistic, cultural, and religious identity were suppressed. Ukrainians were sometimes killed, imprisoned, or exiled for the simple reason that they were thought to be in favor of Ukraine's independence.
August 24 is marked in Ukraine as Independence Day. As the country fights to preserve its sovereignty from a full-scale Russian invasion, RFE/RL takes a look back at how a free Ukraine emerged from the wreckage of the Soviet Union in 1991.
2/23Dissidents paid an especially heavy price, such as Vasyl Stus, Yuriy Lytvyn, and Oleksa Tykhyi, who were reburied (pictured) in Kyiv on November 19, 1989, with the then-banned Ukrainian flag proudly displayed. The three died while serving time for various crimes including "anti-Soviet activity" and "anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda."
August 24 is marked in Ukraine as Independence Day. As the country fights to preserve its sovereignty from a full-scale Russian invasion, RFE/RL takes a look back at how a free Ukraine emerged from the wreckage of the Soviet Union in 1991.
3/23On January 21, 1990, 3 million Ukrainians joined hands to form a human chain, the "Ukrainian Wave," from Lviv to the capital, Kyiv (pictured), to commemorate the 71st anniversary of a short-lived Ukrainian republic established in 1919. It was the largest demonstration in late-Soviet Ukraine.
August 24 is marked in Ukraine as Independence Day. As the country fights to preserve its sovereignty from a full-scale Russian invasion, RFE/RL takes a look back at how a free Ukraine emerged from the wreckage of the Soviet Union in 1991.
4/23Elections in March 1990 fractured the Communist Party's monopoly on power in Ukraine. Months later, as Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev sought to prevent the disintegration of the U.S.S.R., hundreds of thousands of people participated in protests and strikes across Ukraine calling for independence.
August 24 is marked in Ukraine as Independence Day. As the country fights to preserve its sovereignty from a full-scale Russian invasion, RFE/RL takes a look back at how a free Ukraine emerged from the wreckage of the Soviet Union in 1991.
5/23On August 1, 1991, U.S. President George Bush delivered his"Chicken Kiev"speech, in which he warned Ukrainians about the dangers of "suicidal nationalism," a phrase used by Gorbachev. He further exhorted them to remember that "freedom is not the same as independence." Four months later, Bush reversed course when he was forced to recognize an independent Ukraine.
Bush (left) and the chairman of Ukraine’s parliament, Leonid Kravchuk, during talks on August 5, 1991.
August 24 is marked in Ukraine as Independence Day. As the country fights to preserve its sovereignty from a full-scale Russian invasion, RFE/RL takes a look back at how a free Ukraine emerged from the wreckage of the Soviet Union in 1991.
6/23An attempted putsch was launched between August 19 and August 22 by hard-line communists seeking to overthrow Gorbachev and reverse his reforms. Their efforts faced popular resistance and quickly collapsed. In the chaotic days that followed, on August 24, the Ukrainian parliament declared the country's independence. The declaration was made subject to popular ratification by a referendum on December 1, 1991.
August 24 is marked in Ukraine as Independence Day. As the country fights to preserve its sovereignty from a full-scale Russian invasion, RFE/RL takes a look back at how a free Ukraine emerged from the wreckage of the Soviet Union in 1991.
7/23Ukrainians celebrated the August 24 proclamation by tossing former political prisoner Levko Lukyanenko into the air. Lukyanenko was one of the founders of theUkrainian Helsinki Group in 1976. He was also a co-author of the 1991 independence declaration.
August 24 is marked in Ukraine as Independence Day. As the country fights to preserve its sovereignty from a full-scale Russian invasion, RFE/RL takes a look back at how a free Ukraine emerged from the wreckage of the Soviet Union in 1991.
8/23The first direct presidential elections in Ukraine's history were to take place on December 1, 1991, the same day as its independence referendum.
A supporter of presidential candidate Kravchuk holds his campaign poster in Kyiv on November 30.
August 24 is marked in Ukraine as Independence Day. As the country fights to preserve its sovereignty from a full-scale Russian invasion, RFE/RL takes a look back at how a free Ukraine emerged from the wreckage of the Soviet Union in 1991.
9/23A campaign worker holds up a newspaper that says "For a Free Ukraine" in Kyiv.
August 24 is marked in Ukraine as Independence Day. As the country fights to preserve its sovereignty from a full-scale Russian invasion, RFE/RL takes a look back at how a free Ukraine emerged from the wreckage of the Soviet Union in 1991.
10/23A supporter carries a campaign poster for former dissident Lukyanenko, now a presidential candidate, in Kyiv.
August 24 is marked in Ukraine as Independence Day. As the country fights to preserve its sovereignty from a full-scale Russian invasion, RFE/RL takes a look back at how a free Ukraine emerged from the wreckage of the Soviet Union in 1991.
11/23Both Ukrainian and European flags are seen during a pro-independence rally in Kyiv.
August 24 is marked in Ukraine as Independence Day. As the country fights to preserve its sovereignty from a full-scale Russian invasion, RFE/RL takes a look back at how a free Ukraine emerged from the wreckage of the Soviet Union in 1991.
12/23The historic ballot contains the question: "Do you confirm the Act of Proclamation of the Independence of Ukraine?" with two possible answers: "Yes, confirm" or "No, do not confirm."
August 24 is marked in Ukraine as Independence Day. As the country fights to preserve its sovereignty from a full-scale Russian invasion, RFE/RL takes a look back at how a free Ukraine emerged from the wreckage of the Soviet Union in 1991.
13/23Ukrainians cast their ballots in Kyiv on December 1, 1991.
August 24 is marked in Ukraine as Independence Day. As the country fights to preserve its sovereignty from a full-scale Russian invasion, RFE/RL takes a look back at how a free Ukraine emerged from the wreckage of the Soviet Union in 1991.
14/23Vyacheslav Chornovil was surrounded by members of the press in Lviv as the nation voted. Chornovil was a prominent Ukrainian politician and Soviet dissident who had founded the Popular Movement of Ukraine, which had pushed for reforms and more sovereignty. After years of political persecution and multiple arrests, he was able to run as a candidate for president.
August 24 is marked in Ukraine as Independence Day. As the country fights to preserve its sovereignty from a full-scale Russian invasion, RFE/RL takes a look back at how a free Ukraine emerged from the wreckage of the Soviet Union in 1991.
15/23Voters wait patiently to cast their ballots at the Kalinin mine in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine.
August 24 is marked in Ukraine as Independence Day. As the country fights to preserve its sovereignty from a full-scale Russian invasion, RFE/RL takes a look back at how a free Ukraine emerged from the wreckage of the Soviet Union in 1991.
16/23Voters in Odesa sign in to receive their ballots.
August 24 is marked in Ukraine as Independence Day. As the country fights to preserve its sovereignty from a full-scale Russian invasion, RFE/RL takes a look back at how a free Ukraine emerged from the wreckage of the Soviet Union in 1991.
August 24 is marked in Ukraine as Independence Day. As the country fights to preserve its sovereignty from a full-scale Russian invasion, RFE/RL takes a look back at how a free Ukraine emerged from the wreckage of the Soviet Union in 1991.
August 24 is marked in Ukraine as Independence Day. As the country fights to preserve its sovereignty from a full-scale Russian invasion, RFE/RL takes a look back at how a free Ukraine emerged from the wreckage of the Soviet Union in 1991.
19/23Serhiy Hodorovskiy (right) watches as his grandmother, Rosa Hordorovskaiya, 80, casts her ballot in her Kyiv home. Rosa was too old to walk to the polling station, so the ballot box was brought to her.
August 24 is marked in Ukraine as Independence Day. As the country fights to preserve its sovereignty from a full-scale Russian invasion, RFE/RL takes a look back at how a free Ukraine emerged from the wreckage of the Soviet Union in 1991.
20/23Under the watchful gaze of Taras Shevchenko, voters cast their ballots. Shevchenko's literary legacy is widely regarded as the bedrock of modern Ukrainian literature and, to a large extent, the modern Ukrainian language.
August 24 is marked in Ukraine as Independence Day. As the country fights to preserve its sovereignty from a full-scale Russian invasion, RFE/RL takes a look back at how a free Ukraine emerged from the wreckage of the Soviet Union in 1991.
21/23Kravchuk casts his vote in Kyiv. Kravchuk would receive 61.6 percent of the votes and become Ukraine's first president. He was followed by Chornovil with 23.3 percent.
August 24 is marked in Ukraine as Independence Day. As the country fights to preserve its sovereignty from a full-scale Russian invasion, RFE/RL takes a look back at how a free Ukraine emerged from the wreckage of the Soviet Union in 1991.
22/23The turnout in the election was 84 percent and the vote was overwhelmingly for independence. More than 90 percent voted in favor. In Crimea, the pro-independence vote was 55 percent.
August 24 is marked in Ukraine as Independence Day. As the country fights to preserve its sovereignty from a full-scale Russian invasion, RFE/RL takes a look back at how a free Ukraine emerged from the wreckage of the Soviet Union in 1991.
23/23On December 8, 1991, Ukrainian President Kravchuk (second from left), Belarusian Supreme Soviet Chairman Stanislav Shushkevich (third from left), and Russian President Boris Yeltsin (second from right) signed a declaration that "the Soviet Union as a geopolitical reality [and] a subject of international law has ceased to exist."
August 24 is marked in Ukraine as Independence Day. As the country fights to preserve its sovereignty from a full-scale Russian invasion, RFE/RL takes a look back at how a free Ukraine emerged from the wreckage of the Soviet Union in 1991.
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who made an unannounced trip to Kyiv to help mark the occasion, pledged continued British support. London has also been a major supplier of weaponry and aid to Ukraine.
What happens in Ukraine matters to us all. That is why I am in Kyiv today,” he said in a post to Twitter. “I believe Ukraine can and will win this war.”
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg paid tribute "to all those who have lost their lives or been wounded and to all Ukrainian men and women who are fighting for their country, their freedom, and their loved ones."
"You can continue to count on NATO's support for as long as it takes," he said.
Russia has cited Ukraine’s aspirations to join NATO as one of the pretexts for invading.
In 2014, following months of street protests that led to the ouster of the country’s pro-Russian resident, Moscow annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula and backed Russian-speaking separatists who seized parts of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Since February 24, Russia has tightened its grip on Ukraine’s southern and eastern territories, though more recently, Western military officials say, the conflict has turned into a stalemate.
In his address, Zelenskiy vowed that Ukrainians will fight "until the end" and only stop once the entire country is reunited.
"Every new day is a new reason not to give up. Because, having gone through so much, we have no right not to reach the end. What is the end of the war for us? We used to say: peace. Now we say: victory," he said.
Pope Francis, speaking at his weekly general audience on August 24, urged "concrete steps" to end the "madness," and called for measures to avert the risk of a "nuclear disaster" at the Zaporizhzhya power plant.
Recent fighting around the Zaporizhzhya plant -- Europe's largest nuclear station -- has triggered fears of a catastrophic incident.
Shattering the anniversary mood, Russia continued to pound civilian targets across Ukraine, where air raid sirens wailed intermittently.
"Air and missile strikes by the Russian occupiers against civilian objectives on the territory of Ukraine continue," the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said in a statement. “Do not ignore air warning signals.”
Russian forces also attacked Ukrainian positions near Bakhmut and Kodema in the Donetsk region, as well as in the direction of the settlements of Pisky and Nevelske, the statement said.
Russian air defenses shot down an unspecified number of Ukrainian drones near the Crimean city of Sevastopol late on August 23, the Moscow-appointed Sevastopol governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said.
RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service has seen its audience grow significantly since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 and is among the most cited media outlets in the country. Its bold, in-depth reporting from the front lines has won many accolades and awards. Its comprehensive coverage also includes award-winning reporting by the Donbas.Realities and Crimea.Realities projects and the Schemes investigative unit.
![On December 8, 1991, Ukrainian President Kravchuk (second from left), Belarusian Supreme Soviet Chairman Stanislav Shushkevich (third from left), and Russian President Boris Yeltsin (second from right) signed a declaration that "the Soviet Union as a geopolitical reality [and] a subject of international law has ceased to exist." ](https://gdb.rferl.org/24f06279-5066-42f7-965b-706810208903_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
