Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky promised this Saturday that his country will defeat Russian forces, despite Moscow's recent advances and the cooling of Western support, two years after the invasion.
“We have been fighting for this for 730 days of our lives. And we will win,” Zelensky said at an open-air event. “Any normal person wants the war to end. But no one will allow Ukraine to end,” Zelensky said, emphasizing that The strife must end “on our terms” and a “just” peace.
The president made these statements at a solemn event at Gostomel airport, northwest of kyiv, in which he honored the memory of his soldiers who fell in the war. At the event he was accompanied by the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the prime ministers of Canada, Italy and Belgium.
The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau; the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, the Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander de Croo, and Von der Leyen herself They visit Ukraine this Saturday to reaffirm their support for the country on the day that marks two years since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
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Any normal person wants the war to end. But none will allow Ukraine to end
This Saturday's visit to Gostomel, a few kilometers from Bucha, has a high symbolism, since its airport was the scene of a terrible battle during the first days of the Russian invasion launched on February 24, 2022, when the troops of the Kremlin were on the outskirts of Kiev, and just like in Bucha, their soldiers left destruction and death in their wake.
One of the central events of the day will take place in the afternoon when The Italian Prime Minister presides over a G7 meeting from the Saint Sophia Cathedral in kyiv which will be attended virtually by group leaders who have not traveled to Ukraine.
The G7 meeting will examine a new round of sanctions on Moscow, following those recently announced by the United States, the EU and the United Kingdom.
Likewise, the Italian leader will sign a bilateral security agreement with the Ukrainian president, similar to those that kyiv closed in recent weeks with the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Denmark.
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The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, expected to occupy the capital kyiv in a few days when he ordered the invasion, on February 24, 2022.
But he suffered humiliating setbacks against the Ukrainian resistance. Ukraine, in turn, saw its plans frustrated in 2023, with the failure of its great summer counteroffensive, and its army deplores the lack of troops, howitzers and anti-aircraft batteries.
The presence of several Western leaders in kyiv on Saturday does not hide this reality: US aid is blocked by the Republican adversaries of the president, Joe Biden, and assistance from the European Union is suffering delays.
Zelensky said on Friday that decisions on the delivery of military aid must be “the priority.”
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“Russian troops tried to quickly take the airport and with it the Ukrainian capital,” Trudeau recalled at the event. “And today we are here because they failed, as they did not fail in many other things,” stressed the Canadian Prime Minister, who praised Ukrainian courage and reaffirmed his country's support for Ukraine.
The rest of the leaders present recalled the battle of Gostomel in similar terms and insisted that They will continue to help Ukraine as long as it is necessary.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, for example, praised Ukraine's resistance during the war this Saturday, and guaranteed more EU support, including munitions and investments in the defense industry, for “as long as necessary.”
Europe will remain at your side for as long as necessary, with more financial support, more ammunition
“Today we are here to tell you that Europe will remain by your side for as long as necessary, with more financial support, more ammunition, more training for your troops, more air defenses and more investments in the defense industry of Europe and Ukraine,” he claimed.
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For his part, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo stressed that the Russian defeat at Gostomel was “the beginning of the end of Russia's attempt to capture kyiv.”
“The war unleashed by the Russian Federation against Ukraine has had transformative effects not only in Ukraine but throughout Europe and even globally. Russia has accumulated a strategic defeat,” said De Croo, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the Council of The EU.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also said that “Ukraine is part of our house” and he promised to continue collaborating “to defend it.”
“This place is the symbol of Moscow's failure and Ukraine's pride, Putin's plans were stopped here, it reminds us that there is something stronger than missiles and war, love for the land and freedom,” Meloni added. .
At the end of the speeches, which were given in front of a plane and several military vehicles destroyed during hostilities at the beginning of the invasion in Gostomel, Zelensky decorated several soldiers for their heroic acts in the war.
Before the speeches, Zelensky published a message to the nation on his networks in which from the Gostomel airport he declared himself “immensely proud” of all Ukrainians and insisted that it is imperative that the war ends only “on the terms” of Ukraine and not with concessions to Russia.
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The head of the Ukrainian General Staff also stated this Saturday that Ukraine will defeat the Russian “darkness.” Despite the difficulties on the front, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, General Oleksander Sirski, insisted that victory lies “in unity.”
“Light always prevails over darkness,” the military man, appointed to the position at the beginning of February, replacing General Valeri Zaluzhni, added on Telegram.
While on his social networks, the head of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, for his part called on kyiv and its allies “not to lose hope” because “President (Russian Vladimir) Putin's objective of dominating Ukraine has not changed.” .
AFP and EFE
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