President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed on Wednesday, August 24 that Ukraine will resist the Russian invasion "until the end" without "any concession or compromise", as the nation marks its Independence Day as well as the six-month anniversary of the start of the war.
Gatherings have been banned in the capital Kyiv, where air raid sirens sounded in the morning, and Mr. Zelensky has urged citizens to be on guard against "Russian terror".
"We don't care what army you have, we only care about our land," Mr. Zelensky said in a defiant morning video address. "We will fight for it until the end." Referring to Russia − which launched a large-scale attack in the early hours of February 24 − he vowed Ukraine "will not try to find an understanding with terrorists". "For us, Ukraine is the whole of Ukraine," he said. "All 25 regions, without any concession or compromise."
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the US is set to announce 3 billion dollars in fresh military aid to Kyiv on the date it severed ties with the Soviet Union in 1991. The new tranche of American funding will help Kyiv acquire more weaponry, ammunition and other supplies for its armed forces, locked in a grinding war of attrition with Russian troops in the east and south with neither side advancing significantly in weeks. The planned White House announcement comes as Washington warned Moscow could be planning a surge in strikes on civilian targets coinciding with Independence Day observations.
Global support
As the war entered its seventh month with no end in sight, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged unlimited assistance to Ukraine. "People are fighting with steel, with courage to defend their homes and their families, and to preserve their right to decide their own destiny in their own country," he said in a video message on Wednesday morning.
On Tuesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned Russia against further attempts to annex Ukrainian territory in the same way it did the Crimean peninsula in 2014. Polish President Andrzej Duda also advised against any "appeasement", saying: "There is no return to business as usual in relations with Russia." And French President Emmanuel Macron vowed European Union support for Ukraine would continue "for the long term".
In an absurd message on Wednesday, the authoritarian leader of Belarus − which offered its territory as a staging ground for Russia's invasion − gave congratulations to Ukraine on its Independence Day. "I am convinced that today's contradictions will not be able to destroy the centuries-old foundation of sincere good neighborly ties between the peoples of our two countries," Alexander Lukashenko said in a statement.
Muted anniversary
In the early days and weeks of Russia's invasion, Kyiv was under siege by Russian troops which reached the suburbs of the capital. Moscow's offensive quickly faltered, and its forces withdrew in late March to regroup for assaults on Ukraine's east and south.
But in the capital, Ukrainians were somber about the anniversary after a half-year of death and destruction. "Six months, the peace of life has been broken in every family," Nina Mikhailovna, an 80-year-old pensioner, said at Independence Square in central Kyiv, on Tuesday. "How much destruction, how many dead, how can we relate to it?" she asked.
Kyiv's city administration said it would shut public service centers on Wednesday and Thursday, and shopping malls said they would close for the anniversary for safety concerns.