The Upcoming
  • Cinema & Tv
    • Movie reviews
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Show reviews
  • Music
    • Live music
  • Food & Drinks
    • News & Features
    • Restaurant & bar reviews
    • Interviews & Recipes
  • Theatre
  • Art
  • Travel & Lifestyle
  • Literature
  • Fashion & Beauty
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Competitions
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

Current affairsNewsPolitics & Social issues

Ukraine celebrates independence day with army parade while fighting continues in the east

Ukraine celebrates independence day with army parade while fighting continues in the east
24 August 2014
Thomas Rhys Jones
Avatar
Thomas Rhys Jones
24 August 2014

Ukraine celebrated its 23rd year of independence from the Soviet Union today, while the future of east Ukraine remains in dispute.

The celebrations saw a military parade in Kiev before thousands of Ukrainians dressed in the colours yellow and blue in respect of their national flag, as well as a naval procession was held in the port city of Odessa.

Speaking in the Maidan, Kiev’s independence square, president Petro Poroshenko promised to defend the country’s self-determination from pro-Russian separatists and pledged to spend $3bn to re-equip armed forces.

The fund will be used over a two-year span from 2015-17 and is intended to combat the “constant military threat” faced by the Ukrainian government.

The president waved through the Soviet-reminiscent parade of 18,000 troops – soon to be deployed to Crimea and Eastern regions – and stated: “In the 21st century, in the centre of Europe, there is a flagrant attempt to breach the border of sovereign state without declaring war. It is as if the world has returned to the 1930s, on the eve of World War II.”

In today’s celebration wreaths were also laid to pay tribute to those killed in the winter protests that saw the defeat of pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych and triggered the Russian annexation of Crimea in February.

Shortly before the march started, Donetsk – one of the disputed eastern areas – was hit by shelling where the pro-Russian rebels vowed to hold their own parade and to display captured government soldiers. An announcement on a rebel social media account called for an “anti-fascist rally” in response to the government celebrations.

Agence France-Presse correspondent in Donetsk recorded two civilian deaths on Saturday. Since the escalation of violence earlier this year, over 2,000 have been killed and more than 330,000 civilians have fled their homes in the disputed regions, according to UN estimates.

The landmark day comes in the wake of global condemnation of the Russian government’s actions in Ukraine, after a Russian aid convoy entered the state on Friday. The convoy, containing 227 vehicles and branded “essential” by the Kremlin, returned to Russia after Western criticism. While US president Barack Obama called the convoy’s entrance a “dangerous escalation”, German chancellor Angela Merkel has pledged €500m in aid to rebuild Ukrainian areas damaged in conflict.

Russian president Vladimir Putin will meet Mr Poroshenko next week for the first time in two months to discuss the Ukraine crisis.

Thomas Rhys Jones

Related ItemsCrimeaPetro PoroshenkoukraineViktor Yanukovychvladimir putin

More in Current Affairs

Women of Ireland have rolled over for long enough: The 8th and the long walk to abortion rights

Emma Kiely
Read More

Changes to expect during menopause

The editorial unit
Read More

Why Equity Linked Savings Schemes is a preferred tax saving?

The editorial unit
Read More

How the world’s top designers would rebrand political parties

The editorial unit
Read More

Royal baby furore: Proof that the British monarchy is still popular?

Eoin O’Sullivan-Harris
Read More

World Mental Health Day 2018: Raising awareness and combating stigma

The editorial unit
Read More

Seven political personalities you should know about

The editorial unit
Read More

Donald Trump: An enemy of the arts?

The editorial unit
Read More

Trump’s fortune: Where did the money come from?

The editorial unit
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap
  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Alice Cooper at the O2 Arena
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Decision to Leave (Heojil Kyolshim)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • The Five Devils (Les Cinq Diables)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Stephen Fry enters the Radio Times Hall of Fame in conversation with Alan Yentob at the BFI Imax
    Cinema & Tv
  • Roma Bar Show returns for a second edition in Rome next week
    Food & Drinks
  • Beach House Summer by Sarah Morgan
    ★★★★★
    Literature
  • Alice Cooper at the O2 Arena
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Michael Kiwanuka at Alexandra Palace
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Roma Bar Show returns for a second edition in Rome next week
    Food & Drinks
  • “I wanted to sabotage it”: An interview with Mark Jenkin on Enys Men
    Cannes
  • Alice Cooper at the O2 Arena
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Michael Kiwanuka at Alexandra Palace
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • The Innocent (L’Innocent)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • “You don’t need a green screen if you have Tom Cruise”: Miles Teller, Jay Ellis, Greg Davis and Danny Ramirez on Top Gun: Maverick
    Cinema & Tv
  • Metronom
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why
With the support from:
International driving license

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Tripoli airport seized by Libyan Islamist militants
Photo sharing service Instagram launches new time-lapse app Hyperlapse