2 months ago
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Ukraine connected Tuesday (February 24, 2026) marked the 4th day of Russia’s full-scale invasion, with a amusement of solidarity from its staunchest allies and nary contiguous extremity successful show to Europe’s bloodiest struggle since World War II.
Tens of thousands of lives person been mislaid since the Kremlin ordered troops into Ukraine connected February 24, 2022, assured of a speedy triumph but not expecting the fierce absorption that followed.
The worldwide fallout of the warfare has been immense, with galore European countries expanding their ain defence spending successful anticipation of a imaginable confrontation of their ain with Russia.
But diplomatic talks betwixt the 2 sides, relaunched past twelvemonth by the United States, person truthful acold failed to halt the fighting, which has devastated Ukraine and near it facing the mammoth task — and measure — of reconstruction.
Tuesday’s day is expected to spot the caput of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the president of the European Council, Antonio Costa, successful Kyiv to people the occasion.
Both said they would instrumentality portion successful a “commemoration ceremony” and sojourn the tract of a Ukrainian vigor installation damaged by Russian strikes earlier attending a gathering with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
They are besides owed to instrumentality portion successful a videoconference gathering with Kyiv’s allies — the alleged “Coalition of the Willing” which includes Britain, France and Germany.
Impasse
Russia, which presently occupies astir 20 percent of Ukrainian territory, bombs civilian areas and infrastructure connected a regular basis.
The Russian bombardment has sparked the worst vigor situation since the commencement of the invasion, during a bitter winter.
Kyiv’s Western allies person slapped dense sanctions connected Moscow, forcing it to redirect its cardinal lipid exports towards caller markets, peculiarly successful Asia.
Despite dense losses, Russian troops person successful caller months precocious dilatory connected the frontline, peculiarly successful the eastbound Donbas region, which has been the epicentre of the bloody warring and which Moscow wants to annex.
US-brokered talks are ongoing, with Zelensky unwavering successful his demands for information guarantees from Washington earlier immoderate speech of “compromise”, including connected territory, with Russia.
Russia, though, has rejected Ukrainian proposals for the deployment of European troops successful Ukraine aft immoderate ceasefire deal.
President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly warned that helium volition prosecute his objectives by unit if diplomacy fails.
Reconstruction
The grinding four-year warfare has devastated Ukraine, which adjacent earlier the warring was 1 of the poorest countries successful Europe.
According to a associated World Bank, European Union and United Nations study with Kyiv, published connected Monday, the outgo of post-war reconstruction is estimated astatine astir $558 cardinal implicit the adjacent decade.
Russia justified sending troops into Ukraine to forestall Ukraine’s ambition to articulation NATO, arguing that Kyiv’s rank of the transatlantic confederation would endanger its ain security.
On Monday, during a medal ceremonial to people “Defenders of the Fatherland Day”, Putin insisted that his soldiers were defending Russia’s “borders” successful Ukraine, to guarantee “strategic parity” betwixt powers and combat for the country’s “future”.
Ukraine, a erstwhile Soviet republic, for its portion considers the warfare to beryllium a resurgence of Russian imperialism aimed astatine subjugating the Ukrainian people.
In an interrogation with the BBC broadcast connected Sunday, Zelensky said helium believed Putin had “already started” World War III.
“Russia wants to enforce connected the satellite a antithetic mode of beingness and alteration the lives radical person chosen for themselves,” helium told the British nationalist broadcaster.
