For First Time, Ukraine Marks Independence Without Official Military Parade

Ukraine on August 24 marked its 28th anniversary of independence from the former Soviet Union with an official ceremony in Kyiv that, for the first time, did not include a military parade. A minute of silence commemorated those war victims in eastern Ukraine as well as those killed in a crackdown against the protests that ousted pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych in 2014. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that instead of holding a parade, Kyiv would allocate nearly $12 million in bonuses to soldiers. Nevertheless, veterans and volunteers marched through central Kyiv in an unofficial parade -- applauded by onlookers.