On Monday morning, a commemorative event titled "Thank You for Independence," dedicated to Ukraine's Independence Day, took place in Bratislava's Main Square. A table set with 35 empty chairs was placed in the city center to honor prominent figures who contributed to Ukraine's independence but lost their lives due to the war, repression, or the Russian occupation. Their stories were provided in both Slovak and English.
Ukraine has been fighting against Russian aggression since the occupation of Crimea in 2014 and, following February 24, 2022, has been defending itself against a full-scale war unleashed by Moscow. It declared its independence from the then Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) on August 24, 1991. This declaration of independence was a unilateral act; as the second most important republic of the USSR, the Ukrainian SSR thus played a pivotal role in the final dissolution of the Soviet Union. Since then, Ukraine's Independence Day has been celebrated as a national holiday.
Source: TASR
