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                     Kyiv Marks Ukrainian Independence Day

   by VOA News

   Thousands of troops marched in Ukraine's capital on Monday to mark the
   24th anniversary of the country's independence from what was then the
   Soviet Union.

   Soldiers who fought in the government's campaign against Russia-backed
   separatists in eastern Ukraine marched through central Kyiv carrying
   rifles.  They were cheered by civilians, many wearing the country's
   national dress of embroidered shirts.

   This year's parade did not include the heavy military hardware seen in
   previous ones.

   "We can get through the (coming) 25th year of independence as if on
   brittle ice," said President Petro Poroshenko during Monday's parade.
   "We have to understand that the smallest careless step could be fatal.
   The war for independence continues and we can gain victory in it only
   through joint defensive efforts, diplomatic knowledge, political
   responsibility and iron self-control."

   More troops
   The Ukrainian leader said the country would continue to increase its
   troop numbers in order to fend off attacks from separatist groups. He
   said 50,000 Russian troops were gathered along the Ukraine-Russia
   border and another 9,000 were supporting pro-Russian rebels in
   separatist-controlled territories.

   "The enemy knows that we are ready to fight back, and the price of
   escalation will be too high for Russia. That is why it has an
   alternative strategy - to shake the situation inside our country and
   put Ukraine at loggerheads with its key partners, leaving it one-on-one
   with the aggressor," Poroshenko said.

   ''Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula last year after an uprising
   toppled a pro-Russian president in Kyiv.  Moscow has denied accusations
   by NATO and other powers that it has sent arms and troops to back
   separatists in the east.

   Nearly 7,000 people have died since fighting erupted in April 2014.

   Poroshenko is set to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and
   French President Francois Hollande later Monday in Berlin  for talks on
   the recent resurgence of violence in Ukraine.

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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/kyiv-marks-ukrainian-independence-day
   /2930144.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/kyiv-marks-ukrainian-independence-day/2930144.html