Ukraine on Tuesday commemorated four years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion, with key allies reaffirming support as Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II shows no sign of ending.
Since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, 2022, tens of thousands of people have been killed.
Moscow had anticipated a swift victory but encountered strong Ukrainian resistance. The war’s global repercussions have prompted several European nations to boost defence spending amid fears of a broader confrontation with Russia.
Diplomatic efforts resumed last year under United States mediation but have yet to produce a ceasefire. The prolonged fighting has caused widespread destruction across Ukraine and left the country facing enormous reconstruction challenges and costs.
To mark the anniversary, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa were expected in Kyiv for commemorative events. Both leaders said they would attend a “commemoration ceremony,” visit a Ukrainian energy facility damaged by Russian strikes and hold talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
They were also scheduled to join a videoconference with Kyiv’s allies in the so-called “Coalition of the Willing,” which includes Britain, France and Germany.
Russia, which controls nearly 20 percent of Ukrainian territory, continues daily strikes on civilian areas and infrastructure. The sustained bombardment has triggered the most severe energy crisis since the invasion began, compounding hardships during winter.
Western nations have imposed sweeping sanctions on Moscow, pushing Russia to shift key oil exports to alternative markets, particularly in Asia.
Despite heavy casualties, Russian forces have made gradual gains in recent months, especially in the eastern Donbas region, the focal point of intense fighting and an area Moscow seeks to annex.
Talks brokered by the United States remain underway, with Zelensky insisting on firm security guarantees from Washington before considering any “compromise,” including territorial concessions. Moscow has dismissed proposals for European troop deployments to Ukraine following any potential ceasefire agreement.
President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly signalled that Russia will pursue its objectives militarily if negotiations collapse.
Reconstruction
The prolonged conflict has inflicted severe economic damage on Ukraine, which was already among Europe’s poorest nations prior to the war.
A joint assessment released Monday by the World Bank, the European Union and the United Nations, in coordination with Kyiv, estimated reconstruction costs at approximately $558 billion over the next decade.
Moscow has defended its invasion by arguing that Ukraine’s aspirations to join NATO pose a threat to Russian security.
On Monday, during a ceremony marking “Defenders of the Fatherland Day,” Putin said Russian troops were protecting the country’s “borders” in Ukraine to preserve “strategic parity” and safeguard Russia’s “future.”
Kyiv, however, views the conflict as a renewed expression of Russian imperial ambition aimed at subjugating Ukraine. In an interview with the BBC aired Sunday, Zelensky said he believed Putin had “already started” World War III.
“Russia wants to impose on the world a different way of life and change the lives people have chosen for themselves,” he told the British public broadcaster.
