For 31 years, Ukraine has celebrated its Independence Day on August 24th. This year, the Ukrainian population not only associates this day with a national holiday, but also with the date on which the Russian war of aggression in their country has been going on for exactly six months.
The Ukrainian government fears violent Russian rocket attacks on August 24th. Presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych reckons that the capital Kyiv could also come back into focus. It would be “a purely emotional gesture to kill more civilians and spoil our holiday,” he says. Actually, the fighting is currently concentrated in the south and east of the country. Kyiv was already out of the line of fire.
At the same time, the presidential adviser is threatening Russia. Arestovych said Ukraine also had the means to ruin the day for the Russians, recalling the series of explosions at Russian military installations in Crimea. “It will be much worse for them there in the event of an attack than for us here,” he said.
On August 24, special attention is also paid to the port city of Mariupol, where bitter fighting took place in the spring around the Azovstal steelworks. In May, all Ukrainian soldiers had to surrender there and around 2,500 were taken prisoner by the Russians.
Forces captured in the port city are due to be tried in court on August 24, according to a pro-Russian separatist leader in the region. An “international tribunal” is being organized: Ukraine fears a show trial – on the national holiday of all days.
“In Russia, these fighters are considered Nazis, and according to Russian propaganda, the ‘special operation’ in Ukraine is about denazification,” Russia expert Gerhard Mangott told RND. Putting them on trial “could be well exploited in Russia for propaganda purposes,” Mangott continued.
According to the Intelligence Service of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, Russia may launch a rocket attack on the site during Ukraine’s planned Independence Day show trial, trying to pin the blame on Ukraine.
The former Soviet Republic of Ukraine commemorates the declaration of its independence on August 24, 1991. This year, the holiday coincides with half a year of defense against the Russian invasion. Russia attacked the neighboring country on February 24.
Despite the war, people in Ukraine want to celebrate Independence Day. Ceremonies for hoisting the Ukrainian state flag will be held in all districts of Kiev. Wreaths and flowers are to be laid at memorials to prominent Ukrainians and at the graves of war victims. In Germany, too, they want to show solidarity and hoist Ukrainian flags. Most recently, the Berlin Greens even called for August 24 to be declared a holiday this year – as a sign of support for Ukraine.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has to testify before the Cum-Ex investigative committee on Friday. The Chancellor is under pressure – and new documents are increasing this pressure. Diary entries by a Warburg banker again put the chancellor in trouble.
The talk shows are picking up speed again: it’s about gas and the crisis. In “Maybrit Illner” an ex-minister repeatedly fights against the government. Left-wing politician Wissler has to listen to attracting the right. And Eckart von Hirschhausen is anything but funny.
In addition to the gas levy to save important importers, gas customers could face other levies.
