Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know right now

Ukraine was "reborn" when Russia invaded six months ago, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday, marking 31 years of his country's independence from the Moscow-controlled Soviet Union with a vow to drive Russian forces out completely.

Ukraine was "reborn" when Russia invaded six months ago, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday, marking 31 years of his country's independence from the Moscow-controlled Soviet Union with a vow to drive Russian forces out completely. INDEPENDENCE DAY

* Zelenskiy told Ukrainians in an emotional speech that their country would never give up its fight for freedom from Moscow's domination. * He said Ukraine would recapture its annexed peninsula of Crimea from Russia by any means and would not consult other countries before doing so.

* British Prime Minister Boris Johnson lauded Ukraine for its "indomitable" resistance during a surprise visit to Kyiv and said now was not the time to promote a "flimsy plan for negotiation" with Moscow. * The capital, Kyiv, banned public celebrations commemorating Ukraine's independence from Soviet rule. Kharkiv and Mykolaiv have also imposed curbs.

FIGHTING * Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said the slowing pace of Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine was deliberate and aimed at reducing civilian casualties.

* The Russian-installed head of Mykhailivka in the Russian-controlled part of Zaporizhzhia region was killed in a car bomb on Tuesday, an official in the region's Russian-backed administration said. * Russia has launched missiles at a railroad station in Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk region, President Zelenskiy told a meeting of the United Nations Security Council.

* Reuters could not confirm the battlefield reports. * Two employees of Ukraine's Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant have been detained for passing information to Ukrainian authorities, Russia's National Guard said on Wednesday.

DIPLOMACY, ECONOMY * U.S. President Joe Biden marked Ukraine's independence day with a new security assistance package of about $3 billion in military aid for Kyiv in its war with Russia.

* Pope Francis called for "concrete steps" to end the war and avert the risk of a nuclear disaster at Zaporizhzhia. * After six months of war, a slim majority of Americans agree the United States should continue supporting Kyiv until Russia withdraws its forces, a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll showed.

* Russian opposition politician Yevgeny Roizman was shown being detained in a video on social media, as authorities punish critics of the war. QUOTE

* "Today would normally be filled with joyful concerts, picnics and parades, held under a blue Ukrainian summer sky ... But the dark shadow of Russia's brutal war of aggression remains a heavy burden," said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. (Compiled by Hugh Lawson)