One year of war in Ukraine: tears, firmness and tanks

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s president vowed Friday to keep fighting for victory in 2023 as Ukrainians marked the grim anniversary of the Russian invasion that upended their lives and the security of Europe.

It was Ukraine’s “longest day”, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said of the start of the invasion, but the country’s tenacious resistance showed that “every new day is worth fighting for”.

In a day of remembrance, reflection and tears, the President’s defiant tone reflected Europe’s greatest and bloodiest national spirit of resistance to conflict since World War II. Zelenskyy, who has become a symbol of Ukraine’s refusal to capitulate to Moscow, said Ukrainians have proven invincible in “a year of pain, grief, faith and unity”.

“We have been resisting for exactly one year,” Zelenskyy said. February 24, 2022 was “the longest day of our lives. The hardest day in our modern history. We woke up early and haven’t slept since.”

Ukrainians wept during ceremonies commemorating their tens of thousands of dead, a toll that continues to rise inexorably as fighting continues, especially in the east of the country. Although Friday marked the first year of the full-scale invasion, fighting between Russian-backed forces and Ukrainian troops has not stopped in the east of the country since 2014. New drone video recorded at from there for the Associated Press shows how the town of Marinka was razed, along with others.

The carnage continued: Russian shelling has left three dead and 19 injured in the past 24 hours, according to the presidential office.

Across the country, Ukrainians remembered the year that changed their lives and darkened their future.

“I can sum up the last year in three words: fear, love and hope,” said Oleksandr Hranyk, a school principal in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.

Queuing in the capital, Kyiv, to buy commemorative postage stamps for the anniversary, Tetiana Klimkova described her heart as “aching”.

Even so, “this day has become a symbol for me that we have survived for a whole year and will continue to survive,” he said. “On this day, our children and grandchildren will remember how strong Ukrainians are mentally, physically and spiritually.”

Although China called for a ceasefire on Friday, peace is not on the horizon. Ukraine previously rejected truces over fears the break would allow Russia to regroup after suffering a series of battlefield setbacks.

Zelenskyy cautiously supported China’s apparent new interest in playing a diplomatic role, noting that “the fact that China has started talking about Ukraine is not a bad thing.”

“But the question is what follows the words,” he told a news conference. “The question is in the steps and where they will lead.”

A 12-point document released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry calls for an end to sanctions aimed at putting pressure on the Russian economy.

This suggestion will not make much noise, since Western countries, far from loosening the vice of sanctions, are tightening it. The United Kingdom and the United States imposed new sanctions on Friday.

Ukraine is preparing to launch a new offensive against Russian forces with the help of weapons supplied by the West. NATO member Poland said on Friday it delivered four Leopard 2A4 tanks, the first country to deliver German-made armored vehicles to Ukraine.

The Polish Prime Minister told kyiv that more tanks would arrive. The Defense Minister said that with the contribution of other countries, Ukraine will form the first battalion of 31 tanks.

“Ukraine is entering a new period, with a new task: to win,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said. “It won’t be easy, but we will get there. There is anger and a desire to avenge those who have fallen.”

Airstrike alarms did not go off in Kyiv on Friday, allaying concerns that Russia could launch another barrage of missiles on the anniversary.

Still, the government has recommended schools take online courses and office workers have been told to work from home. E incluso mientras viajaban en el metro de Kiev al trabajo, compraban café y estaban ocupados, los ucranianos estaban inevitablye tormentados por pensamientos de pérdida y por los recuerdos de cuando cayeron los misiles, las tropas atravesaron las fronteras de Ucrania y commenzó el éxodo de refugees one year ago.

At the time, it was feared the country would fall within weeks. Zelenskyy spoke about those dark times in a videotaped speech.

“We fight vigorously every day. And we endured the second day. And then the third,” he said. “And we always know: every new day is worth fighting for.”

The anniversary was also emotional for the parents of children born exactly one year ago when the bombs began to kill and maim.

“It’s a tragedy for the whole country, for all Ukrainians,” said Alina Mustafaieva, who gave birth to her daughter Yeva that day.

“My family was lucky. We haven’t lost anyone or anything. But many do, and we have to share that loss,” he added.

There were tributes to Ukraine in other countries.

The Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Colosseum in Rome were illuminated in the colors of the Ukrainian flag: yellow and blue. In Berlin, a destroyed Russian tank was exhibited. Anti-war activists in Belgrade, Serbia, placed a cake decorated in red to represent blood and a skull on the street near the Russian Embassy, ​​which police prevented them from approaching.

In Russia, media and human rights groups reported further arrests of protesters who took to the streets with flowers to chant anti-war slogans in various parts of the country.

The first anniversary of the conflict kept the Ukrainian president exceptionally busy. Zelenskyy started the day with a tweet: “We know that 2023 will be the year of our victory”

He then continued his video speech, pledging not to abandon Ukrainians living under Russian occupation. “One way or another we will liberate all our territories,” he said. He also addressed the troops in a Kiev square and presented decorations, including to the widow and daughter of a deceased soldier to whom he said: “We will never forget”. In a kyiv hospital, Zelensky decorated wounded fighters.

Faced with the impossibility of air travel from Ukraine due to the closure of its airspace due to the war, Zelenskyy devoted a two and a half hour press conference to journalists from various parts of the world. He thanked all the countries that provided support.

Sometimes emotional and cheerful to others, the president offered a glimpse of his ability to win the support of other leaders for his country’s cause. He reiterated his call for more Western weapons, including fighter jets, such as those used by Britain’s Royal Air Force but which the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak-led government is unwilling to contribute at this time. .

“Where are our typhoons?” asked Zelenskyy, who switched to English at the time. “Please ask my friend Rishi.”

The press conference was televised live. Usually, during the war, Zelenskyy’s speeches and comments are broadcast on tape delay until he has moved to a new location in order to protect him from possible attack.

Zelenskyy argued that Ukraine could not negotiate with Russia as long as its aggression continued. “Get out of our territory. Stop bombing us,” he said. He also said Russian President Vladimir Putin should be held accountable for war crimes.

“He’s not a kid who broke something that can be forgiven,” he said.

Zelenskyy said one of his biggest disappointments during the invasion was seeing people who might have fought leaving the country, a reference to officials fleeing Ukraine. He noted that a very difficult moment was the discovery of Russian atrocities committed in the recaptured town of Bucha, near kyiv.

“It was very scary,” he said. “We know that the devil is nowhere but on Earth.”

A year into the conflict, the casualty figures are appalling for both sides, although Moscow and Kyiv are keeping the precise numbers secret. According to Western estimates, the dead and wounded number in the hundreds of thousands.

In Kharkiv, Ukrainian soldier Dmytro Kovalenko was laid to rest Friday at the city’s main military cemetery, which has been expanded with 15 new rows of graves over the past year. Kovalenko died Monday in the disputed eastern town of Bakhmut. Among those who said goodbye to him was his friend Andrii Zatsorenko, who placed red carnations on the grave.

“I never imagined that I would be laying flowers for her,” Zatsorenko said.

“The war will not end anytime soon,” he added. “We have a powerful enemy.”

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Samya Kullab reported from Kharkiv, Ukraine. Vasilisa Stepanenko in Kharkiv, Yuras Karmanau and Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia; Joanna Kozlowska, in London; Monika Scislowska, in Warsaw, Poland, and Sophiko Megrelidze, in Tbilisi, Georgia, contributed to this report.