KYIV – Ukraine will not betray the sacrifices made by its people in four years of war just to make peace with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed yesterday, as divisions among his key allies overshadowed commemorations of the start of the conflict.
European nations had hoped to agree a fresh package of sanctions against Russia as well as a 90 billion Euro loan for Ukraine but Hungary, which maintains close ties with Moscow, had on Monday kept up its veto on both. Zelenskyy was due to welcome dignitaries from Western Europe, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in Kyiv for ceremonies to mark the anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, but in contrast to previous years, no major Western leaders were expected.
“Putin has not achieved his goals. He has not broken the Ukrainian people. He has not won this war,” Zelenskyy said in a morning address, extending an invitation to US President Donald Trump to come to Kyiv: “Only by visiting Ukraine and seeing our lives and struggles with your own eyes … can you understand what this war is really about.”
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides have died or been wounded in Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II. Russian forces have also killed tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians and destroyed Ukrainian cities with years of missiles and drone strikes.
Leave a comment