Ukraine: 500 days of the war with Russia – Europe – International

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky marked this Saturday with messages of encouragement for the soldiers and the population of the Ukrainian resistance in the war, which turns 500 days without visas of an arrangement and with a slow counter-offensive whose success depends on the shipment of more weapons from the West.

Zelensky posted on social media an undated video of a visit to the Island of Snakes in the Black Sea, which had become a symbol of the Ukrainian resistance during the conflict.

“Today we are on the Island of Snakes, which will never be conquered by the occupiers, like all of Ukraine, because we are the country of the brave,” he said.

In the early days of the invasion, a radio exchange between Ukrainian soldiers, who insulted the crew of the Russian warship demanding their surrender, went viral.

The Ukrainians finally recaptured the island in June 2022. “I want to thank from here, from this place of victory, each one of our soldiers for these 500 days”Zelenski added in the video, where he appears arriving on the island by boat and depositing flowers and candles.

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Zelenksi posted a second video thanking the soldiers and affirms together with military officials and Ukrainian security agencies that Ukraine continues to advance.

500 days of full-scale war and not a single day of weakness. I thank all the Ukrainian soldiers. We have been destroying the occupiers for 500 days, defending Ukraine and taking care of the Ukrainians. And every day we take a new step forward. We are walking towards victory,” he says.

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The president’s words are accompanied by images of Ukrainian soldiers fighting against Russian troops, liberating villages and cities and being greeted by the people with hugs and tears of joy, but also with traces of Russian destruction.

“Let’s go ahead” is the phrase that is heard repeatedly in the video, pronounced both by soldiers and military personnel as well as by the commanders-in-chief of the different Ukrainian forces, the Interior Minister and other senior officials.

The head of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Oleksi Danilov, also referred to the 500 days of the war and stated this Saturday that Ukraine is closer to victory, while reviewing the achievements of the armed forces.

“500 days of war. The doomsday clock of the end of Putin and Russia. The course of the hands is inevitable,” he wrote in a Facebook post, adding: “500
days closer to our victory”.

According to Danilov, it took three days to “destroy the myth” of the Russian as “the second strongest army”, 49 days to sink the Moskva guided-missile cruiser and 61 days to hold the first meeting of the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group. at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

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The Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister, Hanna Maliar, also reviewed the achievements of the Ukrainian armed forces on Telegram and was convinced of Ukraine’s victory. She highlighted not only the destruction of the myth of the invincible Russian army, but also that the Ukrainian forces learned to destroy Russian ultra-modern weapons.

Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba, for his part, wrote in a message on Twitter: “500 days. 500 reasons to believe in Ukraine. 500 arguments in favor of supporting Ukraine with weapons, integration into the EU and NATO and others. means to bring our common victory closer”.

The future of the war in Ukraine

If that The conflict in Ukraine entered its 500th day this Saturday since the Russian invasion of February 2022, with no end in sight despite kyiv’s ongoing counteroffensive.

Despite the efforts of some countries like China and Brazil or continents like Africa to promote peace in Ukraine, today there is no possibility of the war ending at the negotiating table.

“This is a global war of an existential nature and someone has to lose (…),” presidential adviser Mikhailo Podoliak told the independent Russian website Meduza, referring to Russia.

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In early June, the Ukrainian army launched a counter-offensive to try to recapture Russian-occupied territories in eastern and southern Ukraine.

But the task is difficult, with fierce fighting and significant losses. Russian forces are resisting with their powerful defenses and Ukraine lacks aviation and artillery ammunition.

Despite billions in Western military aid, the ukrainian army has only recaptured a few hundred km2 since its counteroffensive began and has released a dozen locations.

A far cry from their quick victories last year, when kyiv’s forces recaptured more than 9,000 km2 in nine days east of Kharkiv in September and another 5,000 km2 in November in the Kherson region.

Precisely the presidential adviser admitted this Saturday that the counteroffensive is slow due to the mines and fortifications that Russia has erected while Ukraine awaited the arrival of heavy Western weapons. That is why he reiterated that kyiv needs long-range missiles to hit the Russian rear, fighters and large-caliber projectiles.

The new $800 million US military package had additional large caliber ammunition and also cluster bombs.

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After 500 days of conflict, the unity of the ukrainians remains intact but each day puts their resistance to the test. According to the UN, since the invasion on February 24, 2022, 9,000 civilians, including more than 500 children, have been killed, despite significantly reinforced air defense since the beginning of the year.

According to Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Andri Kostin, during the 500 days of war Russia has committed 94,000 war crimes and destroyed 115,000 objects of civilian infrastructure. In addition, according to his figures, more than 10,500 civilians were killed, including 500 children, he said, vowing that “no crime will go unpunished.”

INTERNATIONAL WRITING
*With information from AFP and EFE