UKRAINE: Ukraine marks 15th anniversary of post-Soviet independence.

Ukraine marked the 15th anniversary of its post-Soviet independence on Thursday (August 24, 2008), with prayers and an official address to the nation by President Viktor Yushchenko. The atmosphere in Kiev was sombre, with parades and street parties cancelled in the aftermath of the crash of a Russian airliner in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday (August 22) that killed 170 people. After prayers at Kiev's St. Sofia Cathedral, Yushchenko addressed the people of Ukraine, from the square outside the cathedral, describing the country's post-Soviet achievement as historic. "During 15 years of independence we learned to be a people and a state at the same time; we accumulated the knowledge which has allowed us to become a nation - this is our real historic victory," said Yushchenko. Ukraine's top politicians and social and business figures attended the ceremony on Thursday. Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, and Parliament speaker Oleksander Moroz were among the political leaders at the ceremony. The anniversary commemorations were spread over two days, with Yushchenko and Yanukovich taking part in remembrance ceremonies in Kiev on Wednesday (August 23), that included the unveiling of a monument to Vyachisklav Chornovil, a Soviet era dissident, who died in a car crash in 1989. His supporters at the time blamed the Soviet authorities for his death, saying the car crash had been planned by the Ukrainian KGB. On Wednesday, Chornovil's widow, Aneta Pashko, unveiled the statue to her husband in Kiev.

ITN Source | August 26, 2006

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