Ukraine on Thursday marked its second Independence Day since Russia's full-scale invasion, with officials vowing to keep up their fight to drive out the Kremlin's forces and local people remembering their fallen loved ones.
The national holiday coincided with the war's 18-month milestone, giving a sombre mood to the commemorations.
"We remember everyone who gave their lives for freedom and independence, for the free future of Ukraine," Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a social media post.Kateryna Krotchenko, the mother of Serhii Krotchenko who was killed near Bakhmut, cleaned his grave."Therefore, he did not accept the fact that war had come to our land and decided to voluntarily," she said. "We agreed with his decision. We didn't think it would be like this.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Ukraine was fighting for "the values we all stand for": sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. That battle has earned the support of foreign allies, especially NATO alliance member countries that have provided Kyiv with sophisticated new weaponry. The new weapons have allowed Ukraine to launch a grinding counteroffensive.Ukrainian intelligence units together with the Ukrainian navy landed on the western side of Russia-occupied Crimea to strike at Russian military assets there, according to Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andrii Yusov.
In Ukraine's southern Kherson region, meanwhile, a Russian strike severely injured a 7-year-old girl whose home was hit, Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said.
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