Last year, crowds turned out in Kyiv to watch a military parade marking Ukraine’s 30-year independence anniversary. But this year, just a small number of residents gathered at Kyiv’s central square — The Associated Press
KYIV, Ukraine — Residents of Kyiv woke up to air raid sirens as Ukraine observed its Independence Day on Wednesday, which also marked exactly six months since the start of Russia’s military invasion.
Last year, crowds turned out in Kyiv to watch a military parade marking Ukraine’s 30-year independence anniversary. But this year, just a small number of residents gathered at Kyiv’s central square, where destroyed Russian tanks and mobile artillery were put on display over the weekend, and the national anthem is played every day at 7 a.m.
A car bombing outside Moscow that killed the 29-year-old daughter of right-wing Russian political theorist Alexander Dugin on Saturday heightened fears that Russia might intensify attacks on Ukraine this week. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, speaking Wednesday at a meeting of defense ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a security grouping dominated by Russia and China, claimed the slow pace of Moscow’s military action was due to what he said was an effort to spare civilians.
“The U.S. and its allies are continuing to pump weapons into Ukraine, increasing the number of victims and dragging the conflict out,” Shoigu said. The new funding is largely aimed at helping Ukraine secure its medium- to long-term defense posture, according to officials familiar with the matter. Earlier shipments focused on Ukraine’s more immediate needs for weapons and ammunition and involved materiel the Pentagon already had in stock that could be shipped quickly.
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