Ukraine turned 35 years old as an independent nation on Monday, marking the anniversary with European leaders gathered in Kyiv while Russian attacks on civilian targets continued.
The holiday commemorates Ukraine's declaration of independence from the Soviet Union on August 24, 1991. This year's observance came more than four years into Russia's full-scale invasion, with Ukraine's Security Service warning ahead of the holiday that terrorist attacks were possible.
Days before the anniversary, a Russian drone strike hit a crowded shopping center in Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The attack killed at least 16 people and injured 130, according to the Associated Press, as reported by Fox News Digital. Zelenskyy declared that Ukraine wants peace but is not prepared to accept Moscow's terms for ending the war.
Several European leaders traveled to Kyiv for the Independence Day events, including European Council President António Costa and leaders from Finland, Lithuania, Norway, Denmark, Estonia and Latvia. Their presence was seen as a visible demonstration of continued international backing for Ukraine.
Carrie Filipetti, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and now executive director of the Vandenberg Coalition, told Fox News Digital that the military picture has shifted in Ukraine's favor over the past year. "The war with Russia has seen a lot of advances for the Ukrainians over this year," she said. "They've recently been able to actually penetrate much deeper into Russian territory, including close to Moscow and St. Petersburg."
Filipetti described the recent Russian strikes on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure as a response to that pressure. "Their success on the military front has now resulted in the Russians getting panicked and starting to attack more inside Ukraine and what they're really trying to do is weaken their will and capabilities," she said, adding that Putin "gets very anxious when he's put in a corner."
She continued: "What we're seeing is these sorts of gasps at trying to retain some kind of control. This is why he recently targeted a shopping mall inside Ukrainian territory. He is not focused on targeting military assets. He is really focused on trying to defeat the will of Ukrainians by attacking them."
Ukraine has targeted Russian economic infrastructure as part of its strategy. Those strikes have included warehouses belonging to online retailers Wildberries and Ozon. Putin has warned that Ukrainian strikes on Russian economic targets open a "Pandora's box," while Kyiv has maintained that deep strikes are necessary to disrupt Russian logistics.
