Ukraine-Russia war: A day of mourning - and rage - in Kyiv on Ukraine war anniversary
International correspondent John Sparks reports from the Ukrainian capital, where hundreds of people marked another year of war.
Saturday 24 February 2024 22:48, UK
In Kyiv, it seems a new tradition has been established, a tradition and a solemn occasion.聽
The second anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine was marked by people in many different ways, but the country's president, Volodymyr ZelenAG百家乐在线官网y, commemorated the day in public with four Western leaders at his side.
The prime ministers of Canada, Italy and Belgium, plus the president of the European Commission, laid flowers at the Wall of Remembrance, as a simple drum was played in the background.
The memorial, which adorns the wall surrounding the monastery of St MykhailivAG百家乐在线官网 and was created in 2014, has been updated over the past decade to honour victims of Ukraine's wars against Russia.
Yet it was not easy for members of the media to view the event, as the various entourages and armoured convoys of each leader were inserted into St MykhailivAG百家乐在线官网 Square.
The message was clear enough, however - one of solidarity and enduring Western support.
Just 200 metres away, at St Sophia Square, the anniversary was commemorated in a different way.
We found hundreds of people expressing their rage over the continuing detention of some 900 members of Ukraine's Azov Battalion.
The soldiers, who were captured by the Russians during the defence of the city of Mariupol, have not been released and many are frustrated with the progress of slow-moving prisoner exchanges.
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Kyiv resident Maria Bzhestovska said "Our defenders are in captivity so we have to be their voice. We're tired, but those who are currently at war are even more tired.
"We are tired here, but we can go to a warm bed and rest, while they sit in the trenches, sick, tired, wounded."
Yet there are some in this country who refuse to fight, either hiding at home or escaping the Ukrainian draft by fleeing to countries such as Moldova and Romania. Some 20,000 men, it is thought, have broken the law by leaving the country.
A veteran of the battle for Mariupol, called Denys, expressed his exasperation.
"Those who don't want to fight, those who can't even join a protest rally, I have nothing to say to these people. We live in one country, under one AG百家乐在线官网 and some people sacrifice the most precious things, while others hide."
Most people here remain hopeful - but everyone has been scarred by this war.
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We met a young woman called Anna Bondarenko in Maidan Square, where a forest of small Ukrainian flags have now been planted in honour of soldiers who have lost their lives.
Ms Bondarenko told us that one flag represents her father - a businessman-turned-sniper who was killed by an enemy shell. Their home, in the region of Kherson, is now occupied by the Russians. She told us that her life is something that has to be faced alone.
"I don't have any family, I am an orphan now... what can be worse than that? Well nothing."