Putin failed to ‘achieve goals’

Ukraine will not betray the sacrifices made by its people in four years of war just to make peace with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed yesterday, as divisions among his key allies overshadowed commemorations of the start of the conflict.

European nations had hoped to agree a fresh package of sanctions against Russia as well as a 90 billion euro loan for Ukraine but Hungary, which maintains close ties with Moscow, had on Monday kept up its veto on both.

Hungary and neighbouring Slovakia accuse Kyiv of deliberately blocking Russian oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline, which Ukraine says it is trying to repair after a Russian strike last month.

Zelensky welcomed dignitaries from Western Europe, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in Kyiv for ceremonies to mark the anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022. But in contrast to previous years, no major Western leaders were expected.

“Putin has not achieved his goals. He has not broken the Ukrainian people. He has not won this war,” Zelensky said in a morning address, extending an invitation to US President Donald Trump to come to Kyiv: “Only by visiting Ukraine and seeing our lives and struggles with your own eyes ... can you understand what this war is really about.”

Russia has not yet achieved all its war aims in Ukraine and will fight on until it does, the Kremlin said yesterday. “The goals haven’t been fully achieved yet, which is why the military operation continues,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in response to an AFP question.

Nato chief Mark Rutte warned that Ukraine’s Western allies must ramp up “military, financial and humanitarian aid” if Kyiv is to prevail against Russia.

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides have died or been wounded in Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War Two. Russian forces have also killed tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians and destroyed Ukrainian cities with years of missiles and drone strikes.