AP
Kyiv
It has been exactly four years since Russia launched its large-scale invasion of Ukraine, attacking the country from multiple directions. On Feb. 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special operation,” a campaign that many expected to be brief and to end with Kyiv’s capitulation.
Instead, European officials travelled to the Ukrainian capital on Tuesday to show their support for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people, who are fighting on.
While Putin did not get the quick and overwhelming victory he had hoped for, the cost has been high on both sides. And as Europe’s biggest conflict enters its fifth year, there is no sign of any peace deal despite US diplomatic efforts over the past year.
President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with top officials of Russia’s top counterintelligence agency on Tuesday without mentioning the anniversary.
Putin told the officials of the Federal Security Service, or FSB, that the threat of attacks against Russia had increased, including those carried out by Ukraine’s special forces. He said greater protection would be needed for energy and transport infrastructure, as well as for leading defence industry officials.
He also said that Russia’s adversaries were attempting to derail peace negotiations with Ukraine.
“They want to attack, they can’t live without it,” Putin said during his speech. “They absolutely must have the defeat of Russia. They are looking for any way.”
He also held a minute’s silence in honour of FSB officers killed in service.
Ukraine’s Western allies offered Ukraine their “full and sustained support” for the four years since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a joint statement.
Over 30 leaders of the so-called Coalition of the Willing, co-chaired by France and the UK to provide Ukraine with security guarantees once a peace deal is achieved, held talks Tuesday via videoconference and in-person in Kyiv with President Volodimir Zelenskyy, the statement said.
They “reiterated their unwavering commitment to working together to achieve a just and lasting peace,” it said.
Leaders “urged Russia to engage in the discussions in a meaningful way, and to agree to a full, unconditional ceasefire.” They reaffirmed their commitment to ramp up economic pressure on Russia, including through additional sanctions, the statement said.
