Ukrainians show their patriotism despite worries about Independence Day attacks by Russia

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Pavlo Kosetsky and his family put on their traditional embroidered Ukrainian shirts, headed to Kyiv’s main street Wednesday morning and shrugged off concerns about a Russian missile attack.

Like thousands of people across the capital, the Kosetsky family was determined to commemorate Ukraine’s Independence Day on Aug. 24 with a stroll down Khreshchatyk street, even though all official celebrations had been cancelled and the public had been warned not to gather in large groups because of possible targeted strikes.

“We feel proud of our army, of course, but it’s horrible right now to see how people are dying,” said Mr. Kosetsky, who was joined by his wife, Tetiana, and three daughters. “We’re so happy to have this holiday, but we really believe that the next holiday will be with our victory day.”

There had been fears all week that Russia would launch some kind of attack Wednesday, and air raid sirens sounded throughout the day. But as of early evening, no bombs had fallen – at least not in the capital. Fighting raged on elsewhere, with many towns and cities bombed. At least 22 people died Wednesday when a missile hit a train station in eastern Ukraine.

The warnings in Kyiv didn’t stop a steady stream of people from coming to the city centre, where Independence Day parades and concerts would normally take place. Instead, they surveyed a line of demolished Russian rockets, tanks and other armoured vehicles that had been set up along a stretch of Khreshchatyk. For much of the day, the street had a family atmosphere, with parents pushing baby carriages and kiosks selling hot dogs and ice cream.

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Earlier Wednesday, President Volodomyr Zelensky gave an impassioned address that was recorded while he stood in front of one of the battered tanks. He said Ukraine had become a new nation on Feb. 24, when Russia launched its invasion.

“It was not born, but reborn. A nation that did not cry, scream or take fright. One that did not flee. Did not give up. And did not forget,” he said, dressed in his signature combat pants and military T-shirt. “For us, the most terrible iron is not missiles, aircraft and tanks, but shackles.”

In a message likely aimed at people in the West who are fed up with the war and its impact on the cost of living, 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.”

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Throughout the day leaders from several countries, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, offered warm wishes to Ukraine and pledged further assistance. Canada is contributing an extra $3.85-million for training programs and supplies for Ukraine’s Defence Ministry and national police force.

U.S. President Joe Biden announced US$2.98-billion in new military aid for air defence, artillery systems and munitions. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his country would commit €500-million ($646-million) worth of air defence systems, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson made a surprise visit to Kyiv to meet with Mr. Zelensky and announce a £54-million ($82.6-million) package of drones and other military gear. “What happens in Ukraine matters to us all,” said Mr. Johnson, who will be replaced as leader of Britain’s Conservative Party and Prime Minister on Sept. 5.

But for many Ukrainians Wednesday was not a day of celebration but of contemplation. “The mood is not like a day of festivity, because festivity is when there is victory,” said Diana Borysenko, who was visiting Kyiv from Lviv and also took a walk down Khreshchatyk street. “We have to understand who we are, why we have the independence and what we are doing with this independence.”

Ms. Borysenko wasn’t afraid of Russian bombs but still didn’t feel safe enough to bring her nine-year-old daughter to Kyiv. “Maybe it was a mother’s instinct,” she said.

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Across town, in front of the shuttered Russian embassy, Ilya Ponomarev led a small demonstration against the war and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Mr. Ponomarev was a member of Russia’s parliament, the Duma, until shortly after 2014, when he was the lone deputy to vote against the annexation of Crimea. He was promptly expelled from the chamber and later barred from re-entering the country while he was on a trip. He relocated to Ukraine and now runs a television channel in Kyiv aimed at Russian viewers.

“This Independence Day is very symbolic,” he said in an interview outside the embassy, while his colleagues taped giant photographs of war scenes on the fence. “It’s the six-month mark of the war. That’s why we came here to the Russian embassy, to identify for everyone and for Ukrainian society primarily that there are Russians who understand, who care.”

He added that he was calling on his Russian friends around the world not to call for a stop to the war but to urge Ukraine to win the war. “We need to transfer the aggressive war that was started by Putin into liberating war that will remove Putin from his office,” he said.

But as the war enters its seventh month with no end in sight, some people in Kyiv have become numb to the daily tally of death and destruction.

“After the war started, in every moment of my life I am ready to die,” said Maria Saulko, 25, as she walked along Khreshchatyk street wrapped tightly in a Ukrainian flag. “The war changed Ukrainians so much and me too.”

When asked why she held the flag so firmly, she replied: “It’s something so important for me. It’s my security. That’s why I don’t feel fear.”

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