At least 22 people were killed and dozens injured on Wednesday when Russian rockets struck a Ukrainian town and set a passenger train on fire, as the nation marked its 31st year of independence from Moscow-dominated Soviet rule.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had warned on Tuesday of the risk of “disgusting Russian provocations” on Ukraine’s independence day, which also happened to be six months since Russian forces invaded Ukraine, sparking the country’s most devastating conflict. ‘Europe since the Second World War.
In a video address to the United Nations Security Council, Zelenskyy said the rockets had hit a train in the town of Chaplyne, about 145 kilometers west of Russian-held Donetsk, east of ‘Ukraine. Four wagons were on fire, he said.
“Chaplyne is our pain today. At this moment there are 22 dead,” Zelenskyy said in a video address in the evening, adding that Ukraine would hold Russia accountable for everything it had done.
“Without a doubt, we will evict the invaders from our land. No trace of this evil will remain in our free Ukraine,” he said.
Zelenskyy’s aide Kyrylo Tymoshenko later said Russian forces had bombed Chaplyne twice. A boy was killed in the first attack when his house was hit, and 21 people were killed later when rockets hit the railway station and set fire to five carriages of a passenger train, it said in a statement .
The Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
People stand next to a residential house destroyed by a Russian military strike in Chaplyne, Ukraine, on Wednesday. (Dmytro Smolienko/Reuters)
Celebrations of the August 24 holiday were canceled, but many Ukrainians marked the day with embroidered shirts typical of the national dress.
After days of warnings that Moscow could use the anniversary of Ukraine’s break with the Soviet Union in 1991 to launch more missiles at major urban centers, the second-largest city, Kharkiv, was under curfew, after months of frequent bombings.
Air raid sirens sounded at least seven times in the capital Kyiv during the day, although there was no attack.
In an emotional speech earlier in the day, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was “reborn” when Russia invaded and vowed to eventually expel Russian forces completely.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told his fellow Ukrainians on Wednesday that the country had been “reborn” amid the launch of the Russian invasion. (Presidential Press Service of Ukraine/Reuters)
“A new nation appeared in the world on February 24 at four in the morning,” he said, speaking in front of Kyiv’s main independence monument in his battle fatigues.
“It was not born, it was reborn. A nation that didn’t cry, or scream, or be afraid. One that didn’t run. It didn’t give up. And it didn’t forget.”
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In a ceremony to honor those who fought for their country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded Ukrainian soldiers and relatives of soldiers killed in action with the Gold Star medal, recognizing them as “Heroes of Ukraine”.
Zelenskyy and his wife, Olena Zelenska, later joined religious leaders for a service at Kyiv’s Saint Sophia Cathedral and laid flowers at a memorial to fallen soldiers.
Strikes on Ukrainian civilian and military targets
In its nightly update, Ukraine’s military high command said Russian air and missile strikes against military and civilian targets alike continued into Wednesday.
“Today was rich with anti-aircraft sirens,” he said in a note without elaborating.
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Ukrainian forces shot down a Russian drone in the Vinnytsia region, while several Russian missiles landed in the Khmelnytskyi area, regional authorities said, both west of Kyiv and hundreds of kilometers from the front lines .
No further details were provided and Reuters could not verify the reports.
Russia has repeatedly denied that its forces target civilian targets. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told a meeting in Uzbekistan that Moscow had deliberately slowed down what it referred to as its “special military operation” in Ukraine to avoid civilian casualties.
At a UN Security Council session on Wednesday, Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia reiterated Moscow’s justification for its actions in Ukraine, saying a “special operation” was needed to “denazify and demilitarize” the country to eliminate “obvious” security threats to Russia.
Moscow’s position has been rejected by Ukraine and the West as a baseless pretext for a war of imperialist conquest.
More military aid
US President Joe Biden announced nearly US$3 billion in arms and equipment for Ukraine in “Washington’s largest tranche of security assistance to date”.
An anti-aircraft gun fires towards Russian positions in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region early Wednesday morning. (Andrii Marienko/The Associated Press)
In a surprise visit to Kyiv on Wednesday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also pledged an additional $63.5 million in US military support, including 2,000 drones.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his country is providing more than 500 million euros (US$498 million) in aid, including powerful anti-aircraft systems. And Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday announced C$3.85 million for two Ukrainian projects, most of which will go toward funding the continued development of Ukraine’s national police and other emergency services.
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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was unwilling to speculate on when the war in Ukraine will end, saying it would be “foolish” to make a prediction.
“Ukrainians are not just defending their country, they are defending the values of freedom and democracy that we hold dear here in Canada and in many places around the world,” Trudeau said in a statement Wednesday. “We must continue to unite with our allies and partners to offer our steadfast support to the Ukrainian people.”
Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, speaking to CBC News in Toronto, said the Liberal government is unwavering in its support.
“We know that Putin’s favorite war is that of imperialism,” he said. “So it’s not a rational decision and we have to make sure that in the meantime we strengthen the position of the Ukrainians.
“We have to continue to support them by really isolating Russia diplomatically, economically and politically. We have to make sure that we send in heavy artillery. We have to be there for the Ukrainian people through humanitarian aid and we also have to make light about the atrocities that Russia is committing in Ukraine.”
Families attend a ceremony at the graves of fallen soldiers at Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine, on Wednesday. The day marked six months since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which coincides with the anniversary of its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
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.
The Russian advance has slowed
Russia has made little progress in Ukraine in recent months after its troops were pushed out of Kyiv in the first weeks of the war.
Destroyed Russian military vehicles are shown in central Kyiv on Wednesday. Ukrainian officials urged citizens to be cautious on the country’s independence day amid concerns over Russian bombing. (Evgeniy Maloletka/The Associated Press)
Ukraine’s top military intelligence officer, Kyrylo Budanov, said Russia’s offensive was slowing due to moral and physical fatigue in its ranks and Moscow’s “depleted” resource base .
On the eastern front lines of the Ukrainian resistance and in shattered cities, some with deserted streets under curfew, fighters and civilians marked Ukraine’s independence day with strong words and the promise of victory.
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Six months after Russia launched its invasion, Ukrainians remain defiant but also weary, especially those who have lost so much to the conflict.
Russian forces have seized swaths of the south, including the Black Sea and Sea of Azov coasts and large swaths of Luhansk and Donetsk provinces that comprise the eastern Donbas region.
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 staple grains and driving up food prices. the energy