Kyiv: The war in Ukraine is “years” as NATO’s chief vowed that his troops would not give Russia the southern part of the country after President Volodymyr Zelensky first visited the front lines of Ukraine on Sunday. Warned that it could continue. Ukraine also said it had repelled a new attack by Russian troops on the Eastern Front, where there were weeks of fierce fighting as Moscow attempted to occupy the industrial Donbus area.
Ukraine remained rebellious, but NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned that Western nations must be ready to provide long-term support to Kyiv during the terrible war. .. “We have to prepare for this to last for years,” Stoltenberg told the German daily Bilt. “Even if the costs are high, support for Ukraine should not be weakened, not only because of military support, but also because of rising energy and food prices.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued a similar warning, urging continued support for Kyiv or risking the “greatest victory of the aggression” since World War II. “Time is now an important factor,” Johnson wrote in an article in The Sunday Times after his second visit to Kyiv.
“Return everything”
Russian troops have been directing firepower to the east and south of Ukraine for the past few weeks since they failed to occupy the capital Kyiv after the invasion of lightning on February 24. Zelensky made a rare trip outside Kyiv to the Black Sea city of Mykolaiv on Saturday, visiting troops in the nearby and adjacent Odessa region for the first time since the Russian invasion. “We will not give the South to anyone. We will return everything of us and the sea will be safe in Ukraine,” he said in a video posted on Telegram when he returned to Kieu. rice field.
He said he had talked with the military and police during his visit. “They are confident in their mood, and in their eyes it is clear that not all of them doubt our victory,” he said. However, Zelensky admitted that the loss was “serious,” adding that “many homes were destroyed, private logistics were disrupted, and many social problems arose.” Mykolaiv is Russia’s main target as it is on its way to the strategic Black Sea port of Odessa. Residents of Odesa, blocked by Russia, noted that they would mobilize homefront efforts.
“I started making camouflage nets for the military every day, including weekends,” said Natalia Pinchenkova, 49, behind the big union flag, who has helped Ukraine since the outbreak of the conflict. I thank the UK for their help. Meanwhile, Mykolaiv soldiers said they were trying to maintain their prewar daily life and would not give up on vegan food at the forefront. Oleksandr Zhuhan said he received a package from a network of volunteers to maintain a plant-based diet. “Pate and vegan sausages, hummus, soy milk … and all of this was free,” said the 37-year-old drama teacher happily.
‘Hero’
Returning to Kieu, the shockwaves of the war echoed around the world, bringing together thousands to pay homage to a young man. Only 24 years old this month.
People of all ages paid homage to his memory in front of a casket covered with the yellow and blue Ukrainian flags at the foot of the monument overlooking the vast Independence Square of the capital. “I think it’s important that he’s here because he’s a Ukrainian hero and we have to remember him,” 17-year-old high school student Dmytro Ostrovsky told AFP.
As the bloodshed continued, the loss put the human face on the common sadness of the Ukrainians. The worst battles continue in the eastern industrial Donbus region, intensifying in villages outside Severodonetsk, where Russia is trying to occupy for several weeks.
“There is an expression. We will do our best to prepare for the worst,” said Sergius Guyday, governor of the eastern region of Lugansk, in an interview from Lysychans’k, a Ukrainian-controlled city across the river from Severodonetsk. Told. “Of course, we need to prepare,” he said, wearing a flake jacket, a gun cartridge and a tourniquet. Ukrainian troops said on Sunday that they had pushed back a Russian attack on a village near Severodonetsk.
“Our troops have repelled the assault in the Toshkifka region,” Ukrainian troops said on Facebook. “The enemy is retreating and reorganizing.” Russian troops are “attacking” the village of Orihove, but said they have “repelled” the assault near the village.
In Lysychans’k, Governor Guyday said that those who knew that his hometown of Severodonetsk had been bombarded and dying were “painful.” “I’m a human being, but I’m burying this deep inside me,” he said, adding that his job is “to help people as much as possible.” – AFP
