00:00Now, you covered the Independence Day ceremony today, didn't you? What was the mood like?
00:07Well, the general feeling since the full-scale invasion has been that large gatherings of people are a security risk.
00:16And so, in a way, ceremonies since 2022 have been more low-key.
00:20The general public is kept well away. You have the visiting dignitaries.
00:24Volodymyr Zelensky always comes up with a morale-boosting speech, as he has some talent for.
00:31I think the world concurs about that.
00:33But there's more of a low-key atmosphere with minor celebrations and cultural events across the country and among Ukrainians abroad.
00:41You can tell, though, that although the commemorations may be low-key, independence is probably a more important event,
00:48Independence Day, I mean, in the minds of Ukrainians than it was before the full-scale invasion,
00:52because they feel as though they are fighting their country's war of independence right now
00:57and that Russia wants to destroy Ukrainian independence.
01:00You can see that not only from the speeches made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but also on social media.
01:05So many posts today, both by prominent figures, political commentators, politicians, journalists,
01:11also just by ordinary people, very emotional, talking about how they feel about it,
01:17posting pictures from previous Independence Day or from events since 2022,
01:23talking about what Ukraine should do now.
01:25Most really, though, in that spirit of saying we've got to preserve our independence,
01:29one that struck me particularly was posted by Mustafa Nayyem,
01:33who used to be a journalist, then went into politics and was the guy who called for protests on Maidan in 2013.
01:37He posted a copy, a facsimile, of the notebook that he actually found,
01:43I think it was back in the early 2000s, of the original draft of what was read and passed in the Ukrainian Parliament
01:52on the 24th of August 1991, written by the Member of Parliament, Levko Lukianenko,
01:59who'd been a dissident and advocate of Ukrainian independence most of his life.
02:03He was 63 when that historic vote happened, and he lived until 2018.
02:10So he lived for another 19 years in an independent Ukraine, having fought for it for most of his life.
02:16Now facsimiles of that document which Mustafa found,
02:21and apparently that wasn't the first time he'd posted pictures of it on social media,
02:24they're actually now being sold for charity in one of Ukraine's supermarket chains.
02:28It's incredible that it's just written on an ordinary scrapbook that you can buy in any stationery shop,
02:34the kind of scrapbooks, not scrapbooks, notebooks, I mean, that children take to school.
02:39So indeed, another wartime independence day there.
02:42But Ukraine also launched fresh drone strikes on Russia today.
02:46What's the latest situation then on the ground?
02:49Well, they claim that they've hit the gas terminal at Ustluga,
02:54which is a very, very important terminal for Russian gas exports.
02:59It's near St. Petersburg, so it's an impressively long distance from Ukraine as well.
03:04But I don't have any confirmation, independent confirmation,
03:08of exactly the level of the damage there.
03:10Certainly the Ukrainians are talking it up.
03:12They're also talking up a few successes on the front lines in Donbass,
03:16where they say that they've taken back a few villages at the same time.
03:19In other places, though, Russia has clawed away yet more territory,
03:23claiming more villages and advancing now not only in the southern area of Donetsk region near Pokrovsk,
03:30but also in the north of Donetsk region near the city of Liman,
03:34where until recently the front line had been holding rather better.
03:37So certainly the Russian summer offensive is not over yet.
03:41So as the fighting continues, there's been at least one positive development, though, today.
03:46A prisoner swap took place in Belarus with Russia and Ukraine,
03:50exchanging 146 prisoners of war and civilians from each side.
03:55What more can you tell us about this?
03:57And could this open the door to peace talks?
04:02I don't think it has any particular bearing on the peace talks.
04:05They've been having successful prisoner exchanges for some time.
04:08It seems to be the only thing they're able to agree on.
04:11One thing that's notable today is that there were eight civilians released,
04:15and among them two journalists.
04:16One of them is Dimitro Kiliuk, who I made a report about back in May.
04:20I went to visit his elderly parents.
04:23He's their only son, their only child.
04:25They're in their 70s.
04:26They were really worried that they were never going to see him again as long as they lived,
04:31especially because there were terrible reports about the condition that he'd been held in,
04:35the way he'd been treated, and his very seriously deteriorating health.
04:40But today, I was messaging with a colleague of mine that we did that report with Staskozyuk.
04:44He went to the border to meet the prisoners as they were released,
04:47and he said that Dimitro Kiliuk seemed to be in not too bad condition.
04:51He has lost his teeth, but he's not too badly underweight.
04:54And so it's a moment of great, great joy for that elderly couple.
04:58Of course, unfortunately, there are still thousands of Ukrainians whose relatives,
05:02whether they are soldiers or civilians, are still reported missing,
05:07thought to be held by Russia, but with very little information about them coming from the Russians.
05:13Gulliver Craig, our Ukraine correspondent, reporting from Kyiv.
05:17Thank you so much.
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