Zelensky marks Ukrainian Independence Day

Turning briefly away from the plane crash in Russia to Kyiv now, where it’s 32 years since Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union.

Before the conflict, a military parade would march through central Kyiv.

But to mark the occasion this year, destroyed Russian tanks and other military hardware are being exhibited along the capital’s main street.

“Happy Ukraine’s Independence Day! The day of the free, the strong, and the dignified. The day of equals,” President Volodymyr Zelensky writes on X, formerly known as Twitter.

In a nod to the war, Zelensky adds: “In this fight, everyone counts. Because the fight is for something that is important to everyone. An independent Ukraine.”