August 24 marks the 31st anniversary of Ukraine's independence from Soviet rule, but this year the country finds itself at war.
President Zelensky invited Ukrainian citizens not to allow Moscow to sow despair and fear on this holiday.
At the online summit called "Crimea Platform", the day before, where 50 leaders from all over the world participated, President Zelensky vowed to take back Crimea from the Russians, by any means.
According to him, today's war in Ukraine has its roots in the conflict in Crimea, for which the international reaction was very weak.
Meanwhile, August 24 also marks the 6-month anniversary of the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Today, Kiev has woken up under strict security measures, with citizens who have been invited not to go out on the streets to celebrate, despite the value that today takes on "Independence Day", with Ukraine occupied by Russia.
The UN says that almost 1 thousand children have been killed or injured in 6 months of war in Ukraine. Over 9 thousand are the victims in the ranks of the Ukrainian army and over 5500 among civilians.
The Russian army, according to Pentagon data, has lost almost 75 thousand military forces in the war.