Superyacht Linked To Russian Tycoon Pumpyansky Auctioned Off In Gibraltar

Ukrainians have celebrated 31 years of independence from the Soviet Union, and in addition marked six months since Russia invaded the nation, in an ongoing battle that has killed tens of 1000’s of individuals, devastated Ukraine’s financial system, and turned Russia right into a digital pariah state.

Ukrainians had been warned to stay vigilant on August 24 as they celebrated the date in 1991, when the legislature issued a declaration of independence from the usS.R. Simply over three months later, greater than 90 % of Ukrainians permitted a referendum formalizing the declaration.

Dwell Briefing: Russia’s Invasion Of Ukraine

RFE/RL’s Dwell Briefing offers you the entire newest developments on Russia’s ongoing invasion, how Kyiv is preventing again, Western army assist, international response, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL’s protection of the conflict, click on right here.

Acknowledging the heavy toll for the reason that February 24 invasion, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed his “reborn” nation would struggle Russian troops “till the top.”

“Throughout these six months, we modified historical past, modified the world, and altered ourselves… We began to respect ourselves. We understood that regardless of any assist and help, nobody however us will struggle for our independence. And we united,” Zelenskiy stated in a recorded handle broadcast to the nation.

The commander in chief of Ukraine’s armed forces stated this week that about 9,000 Ukrainian troops had been killed in six months of preventing.

Kyiv and a number of other different large cities have banned public celebrations amid warnings that Russia would use the event to strike civilian and authorities infrastructure.

Within the Ukrainian capital, authorities staged a show of wrecked and captured Russian army autos and tanks on Kyiv’s famed Khreshchatyk Avenue, as a reminder of Moscow’s failed try and seize the capital.

The invasion has resulted in unprecedented Western sanctions which have pummeled the Russian financial system and remoted Moscow internationally. The invasion has additionally prompted huge quantities of Western assist, help, and weaponry, bolstering Ukrainian defenses.

America, the most important single supplier of weaponry, introduced one other $3 billion in new army assist, a mammoth package deal that places U.S. help at practically $12 billion since February 24.

“On behalf of all Individuals, I congratulate the folks of Ukraine on their Independence Day,” President Joe Biden stated in an announcement saying the package deal. “America of America is dedicated to supporting the folks of Ukraine as they proceed the struggle to defend their sovereignty.”

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who made an unannounced journey to Kyiv to assist mark the event, pledged continued British help. London has additionally been a significant provider of weaponry and assist to Ukraine.

What occurs in Ukraine issues to us all. That’s the reason I’m in Kyiv at this time,” he stated in a put up to Twitter. “I consider Ukraine can and can win this conflict.”

NATO Secretary-Normal Jens Stoltenberg paid tribute “to all those that have misplaced their lives or been wounded and to all Ukrainian women and men who’re preventing for his or her nation, their freedom, and their family members.”

“You possibly can proceed to rely on NATO’s help for so long as it takes,” he stated.

Russia has cited Ukraine’s aspirations to hitch NATO as one of many pretexts for invading.

In 2014, following months of road protests that led to the ouster of the nation’s pro-Russian resident, Moscow annexed Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula and backed Russian-speaking separatists who seized components of the japanese Donetsk and Luhansk areas.

Since February 24, Russia has tightened its grip on Ukraine’s southern and japanese territories, although extra not too long ago, Western army officers say, the battle has was a stalemate.

In his handle, Zelenskiy vowed that Ukrainians will struggle “till the top” and solely cease as soon as the complete nation is reunited.

“Each new day is a brand new cause not to surrender. As a result of, having gone via a lot, we’ve got no proper to not attain the top. What’s the finish of the conflict for us? We used to say: peace. Now we are saying: victory,” he stated.

Pope Francis, talking at his weekly normal viewers on August 24, urged “concrete steps” to finish the “insanity,” and known as for measures to avert the chance of a “nuclear catastrophe” on the Zaporizhzhya energy plant.

Current preventing across the Zaporizhzhya plant — Europe’s largest nuclear station — has triggered fears of a catastrophic incident.

Shattering the anniversary temper, Russia continued to pound civilian targets throughout Ukraine, the place air raid sirens wailed intermittently.

“Air and missile strikes by the Russian occupiers towards civilian goals on the territory of Ukraine proceed,” the Normal Workers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces stated in an announcement. “Don’t ignore air warning alerts.”

Russian forces additionally attacked Ukrainian positions close to Bakhmut and Kodema within the Donetsk area, in addition to within the course of the settlements of Pisky and Nevelske, the assertion stated.

Russian air defenses shot down an unspecified variety of Ukrainian drones close to the Crimean metropolis of Sevastopol late on August 23, the Moscow-appointed Sevastopol governor Mikhail Razvozhayev stated.

The experiences couldn’t be independently confirmed.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, CNN, and dpa