The second anniversary of the start of the war in Ukraine was celebrated in Kiev in a very symbolic way: with a celebration with the attendance of four fairly minor Western leaders, including the prime ministers of Italy, Canada, and Belgium, as well as the EU Commission president.
With no American, British, French or German leaders participating, this diminished ceremony paints a perfect image of the dwindling Ukrainian relevance in the minds of the top leaders in the west.
Reuters reported:
“Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, Canada’s Justin Trudeau, Belgium’s Alexander De Croo and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, travelled to the Ukrainian capital together overnight by train from neighboring Poland, the Italian government said in a statement.”
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The Guardian reported:
“The leaders visited Hostomel airport, near Kiev, which Russian paratroopers seized at the start of Moscow’s all-out attack. Ukrainian troops regained control of the airfield and thwarted Russian plans to capture the capital.
“Two years ago we met enemy troopers here with fire, and two years later, we are meeting our friends, our partners, here,” Zelensky said. He added: “Any normal person wants the war to end. But none of us will allow our Ukraine to end”.
Zelensky later spoke with Joe Biden on a video call. The show of solidarity came at a time when Ukrainian troops have suffered defeats on the battlefield, including the recent loss of the eastern city of Avdiivka.”
The international support for the Ukrainian war effort is also shaky, with a US military aid package stuck in Congress, as the ‘artillery shell famine’ means Kiev’s defenses are starting to crumble in multiple point of the frontline.
A celebrity visitor to Kiev, former British PM Boris Johnson led a cross-party delegation of British MPs.
Named as the former leader who disrupted the Russia and Ukraine peace talks in Turkey in 2022, Johnson said he was ‘more convinced than ever’ that Ukraine could defeat Russia.
“It had already destroyed a huge number of Russian tanks and soldiers, he said. He called on Kiev to eliminate the Kerch Bridge connecting Russia with occupied Crimea. ‘I want to blow this one up’, he said, urging democratic countries ‘to do more’ and to boost defense production.
Johnson said he was convinced Republicans would approve the White House’s stalled $61bn package for Ukraine. ‘I think in the end the US, having exhausted all the available alternatives, will do the right thing’, he predicted. ‘It’s not in the interests of US presidents to allow Putin to win’.”
BBC reported:
“Zelensky said in his speech on Saturday that while any normal person would want the war to end, it could only be on Ukraine’s terms.
“That’s why, to the words ‘end of the war’, we always add ‘on our terms’. That’s why the word ‘peace’ always goes with ‘fair’.
‘We are fighting for it. For 730 days of our lives already. And we will win on the best day of our life’.”
But no amount of bravado can make up for the absence of the major NATO leaders.
No senior US representatives were present, whereas last year President Joe Biden himself attended the anniversary.
“Italy and Canada used the anniversary visit to announce that they had signed bilateral security pacts with Kiev- meant to boost Ukraine’s hopes of becoming a member of the Nato military alliance.”
The war is not going well, as only a week ago, Ukraine withdrew from the key Donbas town of Avdiivka.
Amid attacks all over the frontline, the small gain Kiev had in the offensive, the village of Rabotyno in Zaporozhie, is under renewed Russian assault and may fall soon.
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