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KIEV, Ukraine, Aug. 24 (UPI) -- Thousands of servicemen marched in downtown Kiev in a parade Monday to mark the 24th anniversary of Ukraine's Independence Day. The celebrations to mark Ukraine's Independence were held around the world, from Kiev to New York City to Horsham, Pennsylvania. "We will be celebrating independence, and we are going to set up our Ukrainian fireworks, which are dancing, music and song," Gene Luciew, the event organizer in Horsham told The Intelligencer.
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"As Americans, we all should remember there is a price to pay for freedom, and Ukraine is an example where that price is immediately being paid in terms of the [6,800] lives lost, 15,000 very serious, debilitating injuries and 1.7 million people from their homes," Luciew added.
The Ukraine independence day is a main state holiday in modern Ukraine, and is commemoration of the Declaration of Independence that was enacted on August 24, 1991. Beginning in 2004, August 23 is celebrated as the Day of the National Flag.
"Independence Day is linked to the idea of Ukraine: the idea of a free people running their own state after centuries of occupation and oppression by foreign empires," the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America released in a statement. "Ukraine's national anthem exemplifies this yearning for freedom, openly challenging our persecutors for over 151 years. This idea is what unites Ukrainians around the world, what endears them to their American and other Western partners, that freedom and democracy is a human right worth fighting for."
The U.S. State Department offered its congratulations to the Ukrainian people in honor of the anniversary of its independence.
"The United States has been a steadfast partner and friend of Ukraine since your Parliament approved the Act of Independence on this date in 1991. For two dozen years, we have supported the efforts of your citizens to build a strong, stable, and democratic country. Despite huge challenges, you have made remarkable strides toward this goal. You have stood up to a despotic regime, a corrupt bureaucracy, and an aggressive neighbor—all in the name of a free, democratic, and prosperous future," read a statement released Friday.
President Petro Poroshenko, who is expected to meet with EU officials at the end of the month, spoke at a military rally in Kharkiv region over the weekend. He offered a grim reality to the escalating violence in eastern Ukraine.
"The military threat from the east is a tangible reality for decades to come. This threat will not go away in the near future and every generation of Ukrainians must have army experience," he said.
Military call-up and mobilization will continue, underscored Poroshenko.
"The time of ill-considered pacifism and short-sighted neglect of defense have now receded into the past," the president added.
Poroshenko insisted that about 50,000 Russian troops were massed on Ukraine's eastern borders with a further 9,000 inside the self-declared rebel republics themselves, BBC reported.
Tensions in the region remain high since Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014 in response to the overthrow of Kremlin-backed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych by street protests one month earlier.
