TRANSCRIPT
As Ukrainian communities around the world marked two years since Russia's full-scale invasion on February 24 2022, residents in besieged eastern Ukraine continued to withstand the onslaught.
Ukrainian officials reported at least two civilians were killed and eight others wounded in Russian strikes on the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson provinces.
A woman was wounded and a railway station turned into a smouldering ruin in shelling on the city of Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region on Sunday morning.
This resident says she woke to the destruction caused by a Russian guided aerial bomb.
“I was asleep at night, I saw lightning that lit up the whole town. That was it, I didn't hear any loud noise. When I woke up in the morning, I saw this nightmare. The railway station was functioning before. A month ago, I bought train tickets there, to go visit my aunt in Lviv. Everything worked, there was even a humanitarian aid point.”
In Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy used a press conference to confirm the number of Ukrainian military losses for the first time since Russia's invasion.
He said 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died in the war so far.
“Not 300,000, not 150,000 that Putin lied about, whatever Putin and his deceitful circle are lying about. But nevertheless, each of these losses is a great sacrifice for us. I don’t know how many dead and missing in action they have, but I know it’s up to half a million together with those who are wounded.”
Russia has provided few official casualty figures.
The most recent data from its defence ministry, published in January, pointed to just over 6,000 deaths, but U-S intelligence has estimated more than 315,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded, around 87 per cent of the troops Russia had before the war.
Mr Zelenskyy has placed his confidence in a fresh U-S military and financial aid package worth US$60 billion (AU$91.4 billion), currently blocked by Republicans in Congress.
He says Ukraine needs the decision to be made within a month, after his defence minister Rustan Umerov claimed only half of promised Western support to Ukraine was arriving on time, threatening military operations and soldiers' lives.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan says he believes Kyiv has a path to victory, as long as its Western allies deliver.
“Of course, Ukraine can win. Of course, Ukraine has already succeeded militarily in one of the most profound objectives it had, which was to keep the country from falling into Russian hands. It has already done that. And Ukraine can go further in retaking territory that Russia has occupied, ensuring Russia fails and ensuring Ukraine prevails. But it can only do so if it has the tools that it needs. And that is why the United States needs to deliver the aid package that passed on a massive bipartisan vote in the Senate. The House needs to step up and pass that bill.”
As the current war with Russia enters its third year, Mr Zelenskyy faces his toughest challenges yet, amid questions about the future of aid and domestic criticism following a military shake-up which saw the country's top military commander replaced.
Last week, Russian forces captured the strategic city of Avdiivka, after Ukrainian forces were forced to withdraw to avoid troops being surrounded, citing dwindling supplies.
And Mr Zelenskyy says Ukraine is preparing for Russian forces to conduct another offensive this summer, following reports Russian forces were already planning to drive further north towards Lyman and Kupiansk, ignoring casualties or equipment losses.
But Ukrainian leaders have been defiant, with military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov dismissing the Russian threat to Kupiansk.
“As for the military objectives, they have a single objective that they are trying to complete for last two years but have no success in it – to take the border of Luhansk and Donetsk region and hold what they have. They didn’t succeed in 2022 and 2023, they will fail to do it in 2024 as well.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin used the eve of the anniversary of its invasion, Russia's Defender of the Fatherland holiday ((23 Feb)), to congratulate troops, promising further re-armament and modernization.
He says Russia will push further into Ukraine to build on its success after the fall of Avdiivka.
In the face of Russia's greater military might, the Ukrainian president has confirmed plans for an international peace summit to pre-empt a Russian offensive.
He says plans would be drawn up in Switzerland according to his ten-point peace formula, and presented to delegates of the Russian president at a later summit.
He hopes this will offer the opportunity for a “just peace and the end of the war.”
“We will offer a platform where he (Russian President Vladimir Putin) can agree that he has lost this war and that it was a mistake. A big mistake which for him may seem small, but for us, it's a tragedy. And of course, it is a tragedy for the entire democratic world. Therefore, there must be justice in this matter.”
