KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s leader vowed to push for victory in 2023 as he and other Ukrainians on Friday marked the somber anniversary. to invade Russia which increases their lives and the security of Europe.
It was the “longest day” of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, but the strong resistance of the country a year ago proved that “every tomorrow is worth fighting for.”
In a day of remembrance, reflection and tears, the Ukrainian president’s defiant tone captured the national mood of strength in the face of the biggest and deadliest in Europe r since World War II. Zelenskyy, who became a symbol on Ukraine’s refusal to bow to Moscow, said that Ukrainians have proven themselves invincible during “a year of pain, sorrow, faith and unity.”
“We are standing for exactly one year,” Zelenskyy said. February 24, 2022, he said, is “the longest day of our lives. The hardest day in our modern history. We woke up early and haven’t slept since.”
Ukrainians weep at memorials for their thousands of dead – an unprecedented death toll during the fighting in eastern Ukraine especially. Although Friday marks the anniversary of the full invasion, fighting between Russian-backed forces and Ukrainian troops has raged in the east of the country since 2014. New video from there was shot using a drone for The Associated Press shows how the town of Marinka destroyed, along with others.
And the killing continued: Russian shelling killed three more civilians and wounded 19 more in the latest 24-hour spell, the Ukrainian president’s office said.
Across the country, Ukrainians looked back and forward.
“I can sum up the last year in three words: Fear, love, hope,” said Oleksandr Hranyk, school director in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city.
Standing in line in the capital, Kyiv, to buy stamps to commemorate the anniversary, Tetiana Klimkova described her heart as “falling and hurting.”
However, “this day has become a symbol for me that we survived a year and will continue to survive,” he said. “On this day, our children and grandchildren will remember how mentally, physically, and spiritually strong Ukrainians are.”
But peace was not in sight. China on Friday called for a ceasefire – an idea previously rejected by Ukraine out of fear that a pause would allow Russia to regroup militarily after bruising battlefield setbacks. A top aide to Zelenskyy, Mykhailo Podolyak, said China’s proposals, if implemented, would stop the war and lead to Ukraine’s defeat.
A 12-point paper issued by China’s Foreign Ministry also called for an end to sanctions intended to pressure Russia’s economy.
That proposal also seems like a non-starter, because Western countries working to toughen penalties, not weaken them. The UK government imposed a raft of sanctions on Friday on companies that supply military equipment to Moscow and said it would ban Russian exports of aircraft parts and other components.
“Ukraine is entering a new era, with a new task – to win,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said on Facebook.
“It’s not easy. But we will manage,” he said. “There is anger and a desire to avenge the fallen.”
Ukraine is preparing another military push to push back Russian forces with the help of weapons pouring in from the West. NATO member Poland said on Friday it had delivered four advanced Leopard 2A4 tanks, making it the first country to deliver German-made tanks to Ukraine.
The Polish prime minister said during a visit to Kyiv that more Leopards are coming. Poland’s defense minister said that contributions from other countries will help form Ukraine’s first Leopard battalion with 31 tanks.
Air raid alarms went off overnight in Kyiv and the morning began quietly, allaying concerns that Russia might unleash another barrage of missiles to heap more misery on Ukraine. on the anniversary.
However, the government has recommended that schools move classes online, and office workers have been asked to work from home. And even as they ride the subway in Kyiv to work, buy coffee and get busy, Ukrainians are inevitably haunted by thoughts of loss and memories of when missiles hit, troops rolled into the border with Ukraine and began a refugee exodus a year ago.
At the time, there were fears that the country could fall within weeks. Zelenskyy referred to those dark moments in a video address.
“We fought hard for every day. And we endured the second day. And then, the third,” he said. “And we still know: Every tomorrow is worth fighting for.”
An anniversary is a poignant occasion for parents of children born exactly one year ago as the bombs begin to kill and degenerate.
“This is a tragedy for the whole country, for every Ukrainian,” said Alina Mustafaieva, who gave birth to daughter Yeva that day.
“My family is lucky. We didn’t lose anyone or anything. But many did, and we have to share this loss,” he said.
Tributes to Ukraine’s resilience have flowed in from abroad. The Eiffel Tower in Paris is one of the monuments illuminated in Ukrainian colors — yellow and blue.
Zelenskyy is very busy – started the day with a tweet in the morning promising: “We know that 2023 will be the year of our victory!”
He followed that up with his video address where he also promised not to abandon Ukrainians living under Russian occupation, vowing: “One way or another, we will release all our land.”
He also addressed the troops in a square in Kyiv and paid tributes, including to the distraught widow and daughter of a dead soldier, telling them: “We will not forget.”
A year later, casualty figures terrible on both sides, although Moscow and Kyiv are hiding the exact numbers. Western estimates suggest hundreds of thousands were killed and wounded.
The war, including Russia’s failure to fulfill its initial objective of capturing Kyiv, also severely damaged the Russian military’s reputation as a fighting force. However, it unleashed an incessant bomb blast in Ukraine last year. Ukraine’s armed forces put the tally at nearly 5,000 missile strikes, 3,500 airstrikes and 1,000 drone strikes.
The economic effects are spreading around the world. Diplomatic repercussions, too. Western countries support Ukraine militarily, financially and politically. But China, India and countries in the global south have proven ambivalent about Western arguments that Ukraine is the front line of a fight for freedom and democracy.
___
Samya Kullab and Vasilisa Stepanenko in Kharhiv, Ukraine, Yuras Karmanau in Tallinn, Estonia, Joanna Kozlowska in London, Monika Scislowska in Warsaw, Poland, and Sophiko Megrelidze in Tbilisi, Georgia contributed to this report.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine