A defiant Ukraine on Wednesday invoked the nation's sovereignty as the nation marked its Independence Day.
In a recorded address, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told countrymen the country stood "reborn" six months post the Russian invasion, Reuters reported. He said Ukraine would never succumb to Russian preponderance. The war, he said, would not stop with the cessation of hostilities but would conclude with Ukraine emerging victorious.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. The resistance was fierce, and the invasion brought mass opprobrium onto Russia.
Viewers around the globe have been subjected to a daily dose of heart-wrenching pictures of Ukrainian cities and civilian population mercilessly bombed by Russian forces. Repulsed from the capital city, Kyiv, they are now focusing their onslaught on the eastern part of the country. Some compelling evidence has surfaced of mass killings and torture of civilians at the hands of the retreating Russian army.
The prospect of a nuclear catastrophe at the country’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has stoked international fears. Russian forces have been occupying the site since March. Heavy shelling has been taking place in the plant’s vicinity, prompting calls for ensuring the plant’s safety.