Ukrainians fly flags to defy fear of Russian invasion

Ukrainians hoisted national flags and played the country’s anthem on Wednesday (16) to show unity against fears of a Russian invasion. that Western powers said could be imminent.

The yellow and blue flag fluttered outside schools, hospitals and many shops to mark “Unity Day,” a holiday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy created this week after Russia gathered troops near its borders with Ukraine.

Russia has denied it will invade but warned it could take unspecified “military and technical” measures if its security demands, including Ukraine’s non-membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) western military alliance, are not met.

On Khreshchatyk Avenue, Kiev’s main avenue, where flags decorated government offices, the routine remained unchanged for many.

“Just a normal day, but these flags are here for a purpose, to show that we fear no one. They don’t scare us,” said Mykola, who operates a small coffee stand in the Ukrainian capital.

#UnityDay in #Ukraine huge flag display on shopping mall LED screens pic.twitter.com/VJGAvr7pwE

— Scootercaster (@ScooterCasterNY) February 16, 2022

A loudspeaker in a local government office shouted patriotic songs, while television and government YouTube channels broadcast rousing speeches and reminders about Ukraine’s nationality.

“Everyone wants to scare us and we are here to stay,” said Ludmila, a retiree, who wore a small Ukrainian flag on the lapel of her coat.

At Kiev’s Olympic stadium, dozens of people unfolded a 200-meter-long Ukrainian flag, waving it to the beat of patriotic music.

In a televised speech, Zelenskiy said Ukrainians were united around a common desire “to live in peace, happy, in the family, children with their parents”.

“No one can love our home as we can. And only we, together, can protect our home,” he said. Later, Zelenskiy was to inspect the military exercises in Rivne and fly to the Donbass region in the east of the country to meet with troops on duty.

Zelenskiy, himself an active social media user, asked Ukrainians to post pictures and videos of the Ukrainian flag and add hashtags. On Instagram, users posted under the tag #UnityDay.

Severodonetsk is a #Ukraine town, 30 km away from #Russia-occupied zones in the Donbas. Today people marched there (all masked up too!) to celebrate #UnityDay, a holiday announced by Zelenskyy two days ago in the face of further Russian aggression threat. 📸Ivan Bukhtiyarov pic.twitter.com/z1I8grYBFg

— Maria Romanenko (@rommari) February 16, 2022

“Today we prove that we Ukrainians are a united nation, a united people,” said Pavlo Horinov, an official at the State Institute for Family and Youth Policy.

Zelenskiy has long said that while he believes Russia threatens to attack his country, the likelihood of an imminent invasion has been exaggerated by Western allies, responding to Moscow’s efforts to intimidate Ukraine and sow panic.

Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, said this week that the president had chosen February 16 as his patriotic holiday, partly ironically, in response to media reports that an invasion could take place this Wednesday.

The Russian Defense Ministry said it was returning some troops to their bases after military exercises. The United States, however, said there were signs that more troops were on the way.

US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that more than 150,000 Russian troops were currently en route to the Ukraine border region.

Hours after the announcement of Moscow’s withdrawal, Ukraine said the online networks of the Ministry of Defense and two banks were overwhelmed by a cyberattack. Hackers were still bombing Defense Ministry websites on Wednesday, the ministry said.

Although Kiev did not mention who was behind the incident, a statement suggested it was pointing the finger at Russia.