ZELENSKYY VOWS TO FIGHT ‘UNTIL THE END’ AS KYIV FEARS INDEPENDENCE DAY ATTACKS

Wed 24 August 2022:

Ukraine marks 31 years since independence from the Soviet Union, a day that comes six months after Russia launched its invasion on February 24.

Public gatherings are banned in Kyiv while other cities are under curfew, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fears the possibility of “repugnant Russian provocations”.

Ukraine’s president has promised in an Independence Day address that his country will fight Russia’s invasion “until the end” and will not be making “any concession or compromise”.

“We don’t care what army you have, we only care about our land. We will fight for it until the end,” Zelenskyy said in a video address.

“We have been holding strong for six months. It’s tough but we have clenched our fists and we are fighting for our destiny,” he added. “Every new day is a reason not to give up. After such a long journey we do not have the right not to go on to the end.”

The head of Kyiv’s Military Administration, Maj. Gen. Mykola Zhyrnov, said events have been banned in the capital and other cities so that security forces can respond more efficiently to potential Russian attacks.

In lieu of a parade, wrecked and captured Russian military vehicles including tanks were placed on Khreshchatyk, Kyiv’s main street, as a testament to Moscow’s failed attempt to capture the capital in the early weeks of the war.

On the eve of Independence Day, crowds of people were seen in Khreshchatyk, inspecting the display. Some children crawled up the rusty metal carcass of a tank, while others posed for pictures by the mangled vehicles.

Earlier on Zelenskyy had warned at the weekend that Moscow might try “something particularly ugly” in the run-up to Independence Day on Wednesday.

“They will receive a response, a powerful response,” he told a news conference on Tuesday. “I want to say that each day … this response will grow, it will get stronger and stronger.”

In an evening video address hours later, he said: “Tomorrow is a important day for all of us – it is also, unfortunately, important for our enemy. We must be aware that disgusting Russian provocations and brutal strikes are possible tomorrow.”

There was growing unease among Ukraine’s Western allies that attacks could be planned by Moscow on government and civilian targets during the national holiday.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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