As Ukrainians marked the anniversary of Bucha’s liberation from a brutal Kremlin occupation on Friday, Russia renewed its bombardment of several areas of Ukraine, killing at least two civilians and causing significant property damage. 

According to the Ukraine presidential office, Russia launched missiles, shells, exploding drones, and gliding bombs early Friday, killing at least two civilians and injuring 14 others, Voice of America reports. 
Two Russian missiles struck Kramatorsk in the eastern Donetsk region, causing damage to eight residential buildings. The strikes killed one civilian and injured five others across the Donetsk region, the office said. 

Nine Russian missiles hit Kharkiv, causing damage to homes, roads, gas stations, and a prison. The Russians also attacked the Kharkiv region with exploding drones.

However, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy focused on a formal ceremony in Bucha, where he was joined by the prime ministers of Croatia, Slovakia, and Slovenia as well as the president of the Republic of Moldova.

At a formal ceremony in Bucha, Mr Zelenskyy vowed to punish those responsible for the town’s crimes. “We will not let it be forgotten. “Human dignity will not let it be forgotten. On the streets of Bucha, the world has seen Russian evil. Evil unmasked,” Mr Zelenskyy said.

According to Mr Zelenskyy, the town of Bucha, which is close to Kiev, serves as a symbol of the atrocities carried out by the Russian military since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.

Following their invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin’s forces occupied Bucha for about a month. When Ukrainian forces retook the town, they were met with horrifying sights: bodies of women, young men, and old men dressed in civilian clothing lying in the street where they had fallen, as well as in yards and homes.

In Bucha, Mr Zelenskyy presented medals to emergency services, police, medical personnel, and military personnel as well as to the families of two soldiers who died while defending the Kyiv region.

“Ukrainian people, you have stopped the biggest anti-human force of our times,” he said. “You have stopped the force which has no respect and wants to destroy everything that gives meaning to human life.”