With the participation of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the festive Parade of Troops was held in the center of the capital on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Ukraine's independence.
Before the event, a historic theatrical performance called "DNA" (Independence Day) took place on Maidan Nezalezhnosti. On the main square of Ukraine setups and elements of scenery were located, presenting the most important pages of Ukrainian history from the times of Trypillya culture to the present.
The main hero of the performance was a girl who symbolized Ukraine. She passed by theatrical setups: the era of Kyivan Rus’, the Cossack era, literary Ukraine, the liberation struggle, scientific Ukraine, the Holodomor, World War II, Soviet Ukraine, Independent Ukraine.
In the final episode of the theatrical performance, the main character ran along Khreschatyk to the parade of troops and handed flowers to the warrior.
After that, a solemn parade of troops began with the carrying of the flag of Ukraine 30 meters long in honor of the anniversary of independence.
“What is a powerful country? A country that dreams ambitiously and acts decisively. A country that is not afraid of the words "first time". That is why, for the first time in 30 years, Antonov is building three planes for the state. New tanks and helicopters with Ukrainian blades are being built for the army this year. A powerful country is reviving its naval fleet, naval bases and building corvettes. A powerful country is a country that adopts a missile program for 10 years,” the President noted in his solemn speech on Maidan Nezalezhnosti.
In addition to the Ukrainian military, the Parade was also joined by representatives of the armies of partner countries - the United States, Lithuania, Estonia, Georgia, Denmark, Norway, Canada, Moldova and other countries. The marching procession was completed by an international combined orchestra with the participation of military partner countries (USA, Great Britain, Poland).
The parade continued with the flight of aircraft of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Land Forces, the Navy, the National Guard of Ukraine, the State Emergency Service, the State Border Service of Ukraine, the National Police of Ukraine, the Antonov State Enterprise and partner countries. In particular, one could see the pride of Ukraine in the sky - the world's largest transport aircraft An-225 Mriya.
At the same time, the external raid of the seaport of Odesa hosted a ceremonial passage of warships, boats and ships and the flight of aircraft, demonstration of aerobatic maneuvers by light civil aircraft, passage of ships and boats of partner countries, NATO member states.
A combined mechanized column of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other security and defense forces of Ukraine passed through Khreschatyk. The parade also demonstrated Ukrainian AFU’s artillery systems, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, air defense systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, including domestic ones.
Finally, a demonstration flight of aircraft with blue-yellow smoke took place in the sky over Kyiv.
