Zelensky promises victory over Russia
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has promised that Ukraine would be victorious in its war against Russia two years on from the start of the invasion.
Today the Ukrainian leader welcomed western leaders to Kyiv to mark the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of his country, amid foreign aid to support its war effort hanging in the balance and his troops running low on ammunition.
Mr Zelensky said the country “would never end” in a speech at Hostomel airfield, the site of a major battle in the early stages of Ukraine’s war with Russia.
He told Ukrainians to “keep on fighting” and claimed they are “sure to win” as he stood alongside leaders including Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“We have been fighting for this for 730 days of our lives. We will win on the greatest day of our lives. Next to the word Ukraine, the word independent will always stand.
Source: AFP)
”We have become 730 days closer to victory,” Mr Zelensky said.
“You can burn the plane, but you cannot destroy our dream. The dream with which each one of us has been falling asleep and waking up for 730 days.”
Leaders including Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen laid wreaths at the ceremony as part of a visit to show solidarity with Kyiv.
Mr Trudeau also signed a bilateral security pact today, which pledged that the country will give 3.02bn Canadian dollars ($2.2 bn; £1.7bn) in financial and military support to Ukraine.
Italy’s leader Giorgia Meloni also signed a 10-year defence pact with Mr Zelenskiy.
Ms Meloni said as she signed: “The message I want to send today to … all the Ukrainian people is that they are not alone. I want you to know that we are deeply grateful.”
After signing the agreement, Mr Trudeau said: “We will stand with Ukraine with whatever it takes, for as long as it takes.”
The Western leaders arrived shortly after a Russian drone attack struck a residential building in the southern city of Odesa, killing at least one person.
Three women also sustained severe burns in the attack Friday evening, regional Gov. Oleh Kiper wrote on his social media account. Rescue services combed through the rubble looking for survivors.
To mark the anniversary world leaders also expressing their continued support for Ukraine with King Charles commending the “determination and strength” of the Ukrainian people.
The monarch said he was “greatly encouraged” by the UK’s efforts to support Ukraine and its allies in supporting Ukraine “at this time of such great suffering and need”
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who announce an increase in military funding for Ukriane on Friday, said: “This is the moment to show that tyranny will never triumph and to say once again that we will stand with Ukraine today and tomorrow.
“We are prepared to do whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, until they prevail.”
US president Joe Biden said Nato “remains committed to providing critical assistance to Ukraine and holding Russia accountable for its aggression”.
Ukraine has had a difficult past year in the war, in which they have made limited advances and launched a failed counter-offensive on Russian-held territory.
Russia earlier this month forced Ukraine to withdraw from the eastern town of Avdiivka in what was Russia’s biggest victory since the fall of the town of Bakhmut in May last year.
Earlier this month Mr Zelensky fired top military commander Valerii Zaluzhnyi and replaced him with Col Gen Syrskyi in the most significant shake-up of top brass since the invasion.
A US package for Ukraine, which includes $60bn (£48bn) funding, is stalled over concerns Russia may still be able to win the war even if Western support come through.
Ukraine has claimed it downed a Russian early warning and control aircraft on Friday – if confirmed, it would be the loss of the second such plane in just over a month.
The UK has given almost 12bn in aid packages to Ukraine since February 2022, of which £7.1 bn has been donated for military assistance.
UK Foreign Secretary Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron yesterday said Vladimir Putin is a “neo-imperialist bully” and his regime are “behaving like Nazis” in Ukraine, as he appealed to Western leaders to give Ukraine more military aid.
Lord Cameron told US and Russian representatives at the UN Security Council:
“How many ridiculous explanations have we now had for the invasion? Are they criminals, or fellow Russians? One minute Ukraine is an existential threat, the next it does not exist. Are you fighting stooges of Nato, or Nazis?
“The only people behaving like Nazis are the Putin regime: invading another country and hoping the world will be weak and let you get away with it.
“That is the simple truth: Putin believes he can take territories, redraw borders, exercise force to build his empire.”
Additional reporting by AP.
