KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — European leaders joined President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Monday for celebrations marking the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence Day as Russia pressed on with its 4-year-old invasion of the country.
One of President Vladimir Putin’s key goals in starting a war with Russia’s neighbor in February 2022 was to place Kyiv in Moscow’s orbit. Ukrainian lawmakers voted on Aug. 24, 1991, to proclaim the country’s independence from Moscow, and a nationwide referendum later that year overwhelmingly approved it.
