KYIV: Ukraine was "reborn" when Russia attacked six months ago, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday, marking 31 years of his country's independence from the Moscow-controlled Soviet Union with a vow to drive Russian forces out completely.
After days of warnings that Moscow could use the anniversary of Ukraine's Independence Day to launch more missile attacks on major urban centres, the second biggest city Kharkiv was under curfew after months of frequent bombardment.
The anniversary fell exactly six months after Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine. Wednesday's celebrations were cancelled but many people marked the day by wearing embroidered shirts that are part of the national dress.
In an emotional speech to his compatriots, Zelensky said Russia's attack had revived the nation's spirit.
"A new nation appeared in the world on February 24 at 4 in the morning. It was not born, but reborn. A nation that did not cry, scream or take fright. One that did not flee. Did not give up. And did not forget," he said.
The 44-year-old leader, speaking in front of Kyiv's central monument to independence in his trademark combat fatigues, vowed to recapture Russian-occupied areas of eastern Ukraine as well as the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014.
"We will not sit down at the negotiating table out of fear, with a gun pointed at our heads. For us, the most terrible iron is not missiles, aircraft and tanks, but shackles. Not trenches, but fetters," he said.
He and his wife later joined religious leaders for a service in Kyiv's St Sophia cathedral and laid flowers at a memorial to fallen soldiers.
WESTERN SUPPORT
US President Joe Biden announced nearly $3 billion for weapons and equipment for Ukraine in Washington's "biggest tranche of security assistance to date".
On a surprise visit to Kyiv on Wednesday for talks with Zelensky, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also promised a further $63.5 million worth of military support, including 2,000 drones and loitering munitions to enable the Ukrainian military to better track and target attacking Russian forces.
Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told Ukrainians they were an inspiration to the world. "You can count on Nato's support. For as long as it takes," he said in a video message.
Russia has made few advances in Ukraine in recent months, after its troops were pushed back from Kyiv in the early weeks of the war. Ukrainian soldiers on the front line in the east said they were more motivated than their enemy.
"All of our people are cheering for us," a soldier called Yevhen told Reuters, declining to give his last name. "The whole country is, and other countries who help us too. Our fighting spirit is greater than theirs."
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told a meeting of defence ministers in Uzbekistan that Moscow had deliberately slowed down what it refers to as its "special military operation" in Ukraine to avoid civilian casualties.
On Tuesday evening, Zelensky warned of the possibility of "repugnant Russian provocations" and on Wednesday, Ukraine's military urged people to take air raid warnings seriously, reporting new air and missile attacks on civilian buildings.
NEW ATTACKS
Russian forces have seized areas of the south including Black Sea and Sea of Azov coasts and large tracts of the eastern Donbas region comprising the provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk.
US officials have warned of likely new Russian attacks on civilian and government infrastructure in coming days.
The war has killed thousands of civilians, forced more than a third of Ukraine's 41 million people from their homes, left cities in ruins, and shaken the global economy, creating shortages of essential food grains and pushing up energy prices. -- Reuters
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