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By Natalie Ilsley
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Thousands of servicemen marched into the capital of Ukraine, Kiev on Monday to celebrate the country's Independence Day. The military parade was presided by President Petro Poroshenko who gave a speech in which he said that Ukraine would continue to increase the number of troops situated in eastern Ukraine in order to fend off attacks of separatist rebels, according to Associated Press.
The parade was held in Maidan Nezalezhnosti, otherwise known as Independence Square. The square was central to last year's civil unrest which went on to spark the ongoing violence between pro-Western and pro-Russian forces in the east of the country.
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Although the participating servicemen did carry rifles, the ceremony did not feature the heavy weaponry, including machine guns and rocket launchers, that appeared in last year's parade. A minute's silence was held after Poroshenko's speech to commemorate those who have lost their lives in the conflict so far.
The first celebration of this kind was held in Ukraine on 24 August, 1991, after the country declared its independence from the Soviet Union.
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