STORY: The Ukrainian capital woke up to the sound of sirens on its Independence Day. Exactly six months to the day after the start of the Russian invasion, Ukraine commemorated its autonomy from the Soviet Union 31 years ago on Wednesday. All major events in Kyiv were canceled for fear of increased Russian attacks on this symbolic day. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose video speeches had become a symbol of the Ukrainian resistance over the past six months, was emphatically combative: He will not consider the war over when there is peace, but when his country has won. In his emotional speech, Zelenskyy said that on the morning of February 24, Ukraine was reborn as a nation. The 44-year-old, dressed in his usual army green, stood in front of the central monument to independence in Kyiv during the recording of the speech. Burned-out Russian tanks were displayed in the style of war trophies in the city center. The streets of the capital were unusually empty on Wednesday after repeated strong warnings in recent days of possible Russian rocket attacks on Ukrainian cities around Independence Day. Public gatherings are banned in Kyiv; A curfew was in place in the city of Kharkiv in the east of the country, which had recently been heavily contested. Zelenskyj and First Lady Olena Zelenska also commemorated those who died in the war. In the past six months, thousands of civilians have been killed, more than a third of Ukrainians have been driven from their homes and entire cities have been largely destroyed. Ukraine also speaks of almost 9,000 fallen soldiers. Until 1991, Ukraine was part of the Russian-dominated Soviet Union. In a referendum at the time, an overwhelming majority of the Ukrainian population voted in favor of independence.