Ukrainians are marking the 31st anniversary of the country’s independence in the midst of a battle to keep it, as the war with Russia continues unabated and the future seems uncertain.
The public holiday, which falls six months into Russia’s invasion, is usually marked with a military parade, but fearing attacks on mass rallies, Kyiv has banned public events in the city this year and the streets were much quieter than normal.
“I hope (the war) will end this year, so we can be joyful next spring… I’d like us to get more help, so it can end sooner and we can start living the happy life we had before the war,” said Anna Husieva, 27, a Kyiv resident.
In the run-up to the state holiday, citizens posed for photos by the shells of burned-out Russian tanks. Pavel Pidreza, 62, a retired Ukrainian soldier who was admiring the tanks on a stroll with his wife, Vira, commented: “Putin dreamed of a parade on Khreshchatyk, well – here it is.”
“We’re happy that our army is proving itself to be highly skilled, and is fighting like equals with an enemy that many countries feared, especially in Europe,” he added.
Beneath the bluster of national optimism, the residents also spoke plainly of their grief and anxiety at six months of war that has killed thousands, displaced millions and levelled whole cities.
But the war has reignited Ukrainian patriotism to an unprecedented level. “Probably no one has done as much to unite Ukraine as Putin,” said another resident, Yevhen Palamarchuk, 38. “We always had some internal tensions in the country but since 2014, and especially since February, we are united more than ever.”
Independence Day is one of the most important public holidays in Ukraine and this year it has taken on special meaning.
