Unity Day celebrations held in Black Sea port city

Ukrainian President VolodymyrZelenskyy declared Wednesday a “day of national unity,” as he called on citizens to display the blue-and-yellow national flag and to sing the national anthem.

Hundreds of people in the Ukrainian port city of Odessa gathered on Wednesday to mark the occasion.It came as fears in the West that a Russian invasion of Ukraine was imminent eased but did not disappear.

Diplomatic efforts to avert war got new energy this week after Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia was willing to discuss security issues with NATO, and Russia said it was withdrawing some of its troops gathered near Ukraine’s borders.