Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy yesterday promised victory against Russia on the second anniversary of the invasion, as his troops fight on despite a lack of Western aid and recent Russian gains.
“We will win,” he said at a ceremony at Kyiv’s Hostomel airport, which was targeted by Russia in the first days of the all-out assault in 2022.
He spoke alongside the Canadian, Italian and Belgian prime ministers and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who came to Kyiv to mark the date.
Photo: CNA
When Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” at dawn on Feb. 24, 2022, many expected victory within days, but Ukraine fought back, forcing Russian troops into humiliating retreats.
Since then Ukraine has suffered setbacks with the failure of its counteroffensive last year.
The Russian army has built up a position of strength by boosting its defense industry, while Ukraine is short of troops and running low on Western-supplied ammunition for artillery and air defenses.
Photo: AFP
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg urged Ukraine and its allies not to “lose heart,” while Von der Leyen praised Ukraine’s “extraordinary resistance” as she arrived in the Ukrainian capital.
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Force of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky said he was confident of victory “because light always conquers darkness.”
However, the overall picture remains bleak for Ukraine due to the US Congress blocking a vital US$60 billion aid package, on top of delays in promised European deliveries.
Russia is attacking hard in the east after capturing the heavily fortified town of Avdiivka on Saturday last week.
In the east city of Pokrovsk — a gathering point for civilians fleeing fighting — troops sent a clear message to the foreign leaders gathered in Kyiv.
“Give us artillery, drones, counter-battery, shells,” said a 31-year-old Ukrainian soldier, who identified himself as Woodie.
“Our infantry, armed with assault rifles and grenades, were facing artillery, aircraft and tanks,” added a 39-year-old serviceman from Kyiv, who has been fighting for two years.
Russia has kept up its barrage of devastating drone and missile attacks on Ukraine’s cities.
In the latest strikes, Ukrainian authorities said three civilians were killed in Dnipro and Odesa in the night between Friday and yesterday.
In Kyiv, the mood was grim.
“For women of Ukraine, this is our heartache — for our husbands, for our children, for our fathers,” nutritionist Olga Byrko said in Kyiv. “I would really like this to end as quickly as possible.”
Yuriy Pasichnyk, a 38-year-old businessman, said that Ukrainians “have learned to live with it ... now the war is our life.”
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said air raid sirens had sounded 989 times in the capital over two years of war — an average of more than once a day.
“Almost 200 civilians” had been killed in the capital over that time, including six children, he said.
Ukraine estimates the total number of civilians killed at about 50,000.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
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