Ukraine sadly celebrates 33 years of independence as war with Russia and Putin rages more than 2 years after it began

Kyiv, Ukraine — Ukraine celebrated its 33rd Independence Day in a low-key manner on Saturday, putting aside the usual fireworks, parades and concerts to commemorate the thousands of civilians and soldiers killed in the ongoing war with Russia.

The video in the player above is from a previous related report.

Social media was flooded with messages of gratitude and support as Ukrainians across the country greeted each other and thanked the soldiers on the front lines.

“Independence is the silence we experience when we lose our people,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the nation in a video posted on Telegram. “Independence is going down to safety during an airstrike, only to persist and rise again and again to tell the enemy: ‘You will not achieve anything.’”

In the capital kyiv, people from different regions of the country marched in “vyshyvankas,” multi-colored shirts decorated with patterns, including the traditional white shirt embroidered with red. Some posed for photos in front of the country's blue and yellow flag and an “I Love Ukraine” sign placed near a makeshift memorial to fallen soldiers.

Ukraine declared independence from the former Soviet Union on August 24, 1991. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of the country on February 24, 2022. More than 11,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed in the conflict, according to the United Nations, which has said the toll could be higher. In February, the second anniversary of the war, Zelensky said 35,000 soldiers had been killed.

“We can celebrate this holiday thanks to our soldiers, it is thanks to them that we live,” said Oksana Stavnycha, who came to kyiv from the central Vinnytsia region with her 7-year-old daughter and husband. They plan to lay flowers in tribute to the fallen Ukrainian soldiers.

“The price of our independence is very high, and every day many men give their lives for it,” Stavnycha added.

Zelensky delivered his address to the nation in the northeastern city of Sumy, near the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces launched a surprise incursion earlier this month. The move marked a stunning turn in the war and added a new front.

Ukraine has rapidly seized considerable Russian territory, including many small towns, and captured hundreds of Russian troops, as part of an effort to counter Russia's crushing advances in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.

The military now claims to hold 1,200 square kilometers (480 square miles) of territory and over the past week has launched drone attacks on strategic bridges and Russian airfields and drone bases.

“Those who seek to sow evil on our land will reap the fruits on their own soil,” Zelensky said in his speech. “And those who sought to turn our lands into a buffer zone must now worry that their own country will not become a buffer federation. This is how independence responds.”

Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, has honored the soldiers who fought in the Kursk region by awarding them military decorations. “Our independence is in our blood,” he said on Telegram on Saturday. “In the blood that flows in our veins, in the blood that our heroes shed for their homeland.”

As Ukraine continues its offensive into Russia, it is evacuating residents of Pokrovsk, a strategic city in eastern Ukraine that once had a population of 60,000. The Russian forces invading the city are now only 10 kilometers from the city.

On Friday, Pokrovsk residents carrying bundles of belongings boarded trains to take them to areas further away from the conflict.

Ihor Kysil, a 52-year-old soldier from the 110th Brigade, was wounded for the second time about a month ago in combat in the Pokrovsk region. On Friday, still recovering from a concussion and a broken shoulder, and suffering from hearing problems from a previous injury, he stood on Independence Square in kyiv, holding his wife's hand.

“This day is about our freedom,” he said, standing near the makeshift memorial, where thousands of flags flew in memory of those who lost their lives. Some banners paid tribute to the soldiers who fought alongside Kysil.

“These are happy days,” said Kysil, who will return to the front after his rehabilitation is complete.

“Every life is priceless,” added his wife, Yuliia Fedenko. “We appreciate every minute of the time we have.”