World

Zelenskiy assures Ukrainians of victory with US aid in the balance

2023.12.06 11:43

5/5

© Reuters. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses to service members during award ceremony on Day of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine December 6, 2023. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS

2/5

By Olena Harmash and Tom Balmforth

KYIV (Reuters) -President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Ukrainians on Wednesday that Kyiv would defeat Russia and win a fair peace “against all odds” as the future of vital U.S. military and financial aid hung in the balance.

Zelenskiy delivered his defiant message in an unusual early-morning video that showed him walking through Kyiv on his way to pay his respects to fallen soldiers on what Ukraine marks as Armed Forces Day.

“It has been difficult, but we have persevered,” said Zelenskiy, who filmed himself on a mobile phone as he walked from his office down the central Hrushevskoho street towards central Kyiv’s “wall of remembrance”.

“It is not easy now, but we are moving. No matter how difficult it is, we will get there. To our borders, to our people. To our peace. Fair peace. Free peace. Against all odds.”

His remarks appeared to respond to uncertainty over the future of a $60-billion aid package being debated in U.S. Congress that has been stuck for weeks.

On the streets of Kyiv, residents said they were worried and already felt the pain from delays in Western military aid.

“I’m scared that if Ukraine is left without help, the war will drag on longer and longer and it will be difficult to say when it could end,” Olha Starostenko, a 33-year-old economist, told Reuters TV.

“A friend of mine recently died fighting. We need to get the help as soon as possible, every day of delay means loss of human lives,” said Tymur Dushko, 51, who works as an adviser on labour security.

“These are power games that are going on… But I’m convinced that we will receive aid,” he added.

Kyiv has relied heavily on assistance from its Western allies against Russia’s much bigger army in the biggest war in Europe since World War Two, now in its 22nd month.

A proposed European Union military aid package has also run into resistance from some members of the bloc.

‘BIG RISK’

On Tuesday, Zelenskiy cancelled plans to address U.S. lawmakers to appeal directly for the aid as Congress wrangles over Republican demands to tie the assistance to a revamp of U.S. immigration and border policies.

In one of the bleakest assessments yet by a senior Ukrainian official, Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said on Tuesday that postponement of the U.S. aid created a “big risk” that Ukraine would lose the war.

Moscow controls about 17.5% of Ukraine’s territory, and Ukrainian forces are now facing a new Russian offensive on the eastern front, with especially fierce fighting around the towns of Avdiivka and Mariinka.

In his video, Zelenskiy greeted people as he walked down the slippery, winter streets. He said Ukraine had no alternative except to liberate its territories occupied by Russia.

“These are our lands. These are our people. Is there an alternative? No. Nine years and 651 days of the war are behind us. Victory is ahead. And how else? Could there be an alternative? We all know: no,” Zelenskiy said.

He was later shown paying his respects at the wall of remembrance created in 2014 to commemorate victims of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Moscow seized the peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and backed a militant insurgency in the east.

While the original panels were neatly structured with orderly military pictures, that changed after Russia’s invasion in February 2022. Grieving families placed hundreds of personal photos there.

Zelenskiy said the wall would help strengthen Ukrainians’ spirit against “fear, mistrust, despair, discord and thoughts of giving up.”

Source link

Related Articles

Back to top button
bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) $ 82,083.99 2.42%
ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) $ 1,903.82 1.63%
tether
Tether (USDT) $ 0.99999 0.02%
xrp
XRP (XRP) $ 2.26 4.09%
bnb
BNB (BNB) $ 629.83 0.49%
solana
Solana (SOL) $ 123.78 4.36%
usd-coin
USDC (USDC) $ 1.00 0.00%
cardano
Cardano (ADA) $ 0.693737 4.05%
dogecoin
Dogecoin (DOGE) $ 0.165933 5.04%
tron
TRON (TRX) $ 0.231685 5.45%
staked-ether
Lido Staked Ether (STETH) $ 1,901.67 1.78%
wrapped-bitcoin
Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) $ 81,994.97 2.53%
leo-token
LEO Token (LEO) $ 9.73 0.48%
the-open-network
Toncoin (TON) $ 3.61 3.73%
chainlink
Chainlink (LINK) $ 13.65 3.76%
usds
USDS (USDS) $ 1.00 0.02%
stellar
Stellar (XLM) $ 0.268847 1.96%
wrapped-steth
Wrapped stETH (WSTETH) $ 2,279.59 1.71%
hedera-hashgraph
Hedera (HBAR) $ 0.185305 4.07%
pi-network
Pi Network (PI) $ 1.12 16.81%
avalanche-2
Avalanche (AVAX) $ 18.64 1.45%
shiba-inu
Shiba Inu (SHIB) $ 0.000012 5.05%
sui
Sui (SUI) $ 2.26 4.52%
mantra-dao
MANTRA (OM) $ 6.91 1.10%
litecoin
Litecoin (LTC) $ 88.21 5.36%
polkadot
Polkadot (DOT) $ 4.38 0.89%
bitcoin-cash
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 333.18 1.69%
bitget-token
Bitget Token (BGB) $ 4.60 3.63%
ethena-usde
Ethena USDe (USDE) $ 0.999743 0.02%
weth
WETH (WETH) $ 1,904.64 1.59%
binance-bridged-usdt-bnb-smart-chain
Binance Bridged USDT (BNB Smart Chain) (BSC-USD) $ 0.999878 0.04%
hyperliquid
Hyperliquid (HYPE) $ 13.41 1.77%
whitebit
WhiteBIT Coin (WBT) $ 28.13 1.36%
wrapped-eeth
Wrapped eETH (WEETH) $ 2,022.37 1.64%
monero
Monero (XMR) $ 207.04 2.08%
uniswap
Uniswap (UNI) $ 6.27 1.12%
susds
sUSDS (SUSDS) $ 1.04 0.19%
dai
Dai (DAI) $ 0.99985 0.03%
aptos
Aptos (APT) $ 5.29 2.20%
okb
OKB (OKB) $ 50.78 0.97%
near
NEAR Protocol (NEAR) $ 2.53 5.34%
pepe
Pepe (PEPE) $ 0.000007 7.48%
internet-computer
Internet Computer (ICP) $ 5.71 5.84%
mantle
Mantle (MNT) $ 0.802865 2.15%
gatechain-token
Gate (GT) $ 21.74 1.14%
ethereum-classic
Ethereum Classic (ETC) $ 17.48 2.99%
tokenize-xchange
Tokenize Xchange (TKX) $ 32.89 2.27%
ondo-finance
Ondo (ONDO) $ 0.81784 6.55%
aave
Aave (AAVE) $ 169.40 3.92%
coinbase-wrapped-btc
Coinbase Wrapped BTC (CBBTC) $ 82,083.99 2.41%