As Ukraine war enters fifth year, Zelenskyy says Putin failing at his war goals

Kyiv, Ukraine — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy marked the start of the fifth year of the Ukraine war by saying Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin has failed to achieve his war goals.

In a video address that showed Ukrainians carrying out acts of resistance against Russian soldiers in the opening days of the conflict, Zelenskyy added that Ukraine was ready to do “everything” it could to secure a strong, lasting peace.

Hundreds of thousands have died on both sides since Russia invaded its neighbor on Feb. 24, 2022, unleashing the deadliest war on European soil since World War II.

Talks between the two sides, relaunched last year by the United States, have so far failed to halt the fighting that has devastated the country and left it facing a mammoth reconstruction task.

“We have defended our independence, we have not lost our statehood; Putin has not achieved his goals. He has not broken Ukrainians; he has not won this war. We have preserved Ukraine, and we will do everything to secure peace and justice. Glory to Ukraine!” Zelenskyy said in his address, which he posted on social media.

“We want peace. Strong, dignified, and lasting peace,” Zelenskyy said, adding that any agreement “must not simply be signed, it must be accepted by Ukrainians.”

Zelenskyy told AFP last week that Ukraine wasn’t losing the war, and he urged European countries to deploy troops to the front line in the case of any ceasefire to protect against Russia attacking again.  

The leaders of Ukraine allies, including Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, were in the country on Tuesday to mark the anniversary.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen was also there, saying she wanted to reaffirm that Europe stood “unwaveringly with Ukraine, financially, militarily, and through this harsh winter.”

“And to send a clear message to the Ukrainian people and to the aggressor alike: we will not relent until peace is restored. Peace on Ukraine’s terms,” she said in a video posted to social media.

She is expected to attend a “commemoration ceremony” and visit a Ukrainian energy facility damaged by Russian strikes before meeting Zelenskyy and taking part in a videoconference with Kyiv’s allies, including Britain, France and Germany.

Ukrainian soldier perserveres

CBS News correspondent Holly Williams, who’s covered the war since it began, caught up last week with a Ukrainian soldier she first met on the front lines three days before Russia invaded.

At the time, Williams says, she assumed Valeriy Kashkarov and his comrades had been killed when Russia moved in.

But when CBS News tracked him down, he laughed when Williams said she was surprised he’s still alive.

“Me too,” Kashkarov remarked.

He said he was shot by a Russian sniper. Though he survived, many of his fellow soldiers didn’t make it.

“I get upset,” Kashkarov told Williams.

“It’s a lot of pain,” Williams observed..

“Yeah,” Kashkarov responded, “Especially … young brothers in arms (fellow soldiers) dead, and a lot of them. On a daily basis.

“It’s like – ah – what the hell,” he reflected.

Territorial gains in dispute  

The United States has been pushing for an end to conflict, which has destroyed much of eastern and southern Ukraine, but Moscow and Kyiv remain at odds over territory.

Russia, which occupies around 20 percent of Ukraine, is pushing for full control of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region as part of any deal and has threatened to take it by force if Kyiv doesn’t cave at the negotiating table.

Ukraine has rejected the demand and said it wouldn’t sign a deal without security guarantees from allies, including the U.S., to deter Russia from invading again.

Moscow has in recent months escalated its attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, cutting heating and power to millions of Ukrainians during this harsh winter.

Kyiv’s allies have slapped heavy sanctions on Moscow, forcing it to redirect its key oil exports toward new markets, particularly in Asia.

Despite heavy losses, Russian troops have in recent months advanced slowly on the front line, particularly in the eastern Donbas region, which Moscow wants to annex.

Russia has rejected Ukrainian proposals for the deployment of European troops in Ukraine after any ceasefire deal. Putin has repeatedly warned that he will pursue his objectives by force if diplomacy fails.

Reconstruction  will be mammoth task

The grinding four-year war has devastated Ukraine, which even before the fighting was one of the poorest countries in Europe.

The cost of post-war reconstruction is estimated at around $588 billion over the next decade, according to a joint World Bank, EU and UN report with Kyiv published on Monday.

Russia cast its decision to send troops into Ukraine as a defensive move to halt Ukraine’s ambition of joining NATO.

On Monday, during a medal ceremony to mark “Defenders of the Fatherland Day,” Putin said his soldiers were defending Russia’s “borders” to ensure “strategic parity” between powers and fight for the country’s “future.”