Ukraine stands firm a year into the fight – but the war is likely to grind on
Ukraine hopes to defeat Russia’s invasion this year but, unless the West provides sufficient weapons to achieve a decisive victory or Vladimir Putin gives up, this war is set to grind on.
One year into a full-scale invasion intent on toppling the government and imposing a pro-Russia regime, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was standing firm on Friday.
But this was a day for commemoration, not celebration as the nation observed a one minute’s silence to remember the tens of thousands of Ukrainian service personnel who gave their lives to protect Ukraine’s freedom.
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They also know that there are many more days, months – even years – of tough fighting ahead.
The Ukrainian leader awarded medals to soldiers – including those who died – at a ceremony in Kyiv.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy awards a military chaplain in Kyiv
“We withstand all threats, shelling, cluster bombs, cruise missiles, kamikaze drones, blackouts and cold,” he told lines of troops as well as families.
“And we will do everything to gain victory this year.”
Mr Zelenskyy knows that he must keep strong.
His country withstood the shock on 24 February 2022 of the biggest invasion in Europe since the Second World War.
But his people are exhausted and there is no end in sight to the threat, with battles raging in the east.
Ukraine’s military is unwavering in their determination to fight.
But Russian President Vladimir Putin is showing no sign of giving up despite repeated defeats and setbacks.
His forces still hold about one fifth of Ukrainian territory, with up to 300,000 troops on the ground – double the initial invading force – according to Western officials.
It means the fighting this year is only set to worsen.
Neither side appears to have the capability to achieve a decisive victory. But no one is in the mood for compromise.
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Ukraine marks one year of war
Asked by Sky News whether Ukraine could win on the battlefield or whether he might have to consider a negotiation – possibly even with Mr Putin – Mr Zelenskyy said: “Despite everybody seeing how they kill, torture and everything else, they’re not even trying to hide their attacks…They [Russians] don’t care.
“And seeing the world this way, do you think we Ukrainians can sit and negotiate with all of this?”
He continued: “Firstly – please respect our right to live on our land. Leave our territory.
“Stop shelling us, stop killing civilians, stop destroying our infrastructure, energy sector, drinking water, stop airstrikes on the cities, villages, stop killing dogs, cats, just animals, stop burning the forests.
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“So you go ahead and stop doing all of that, and only after that, we’ll tell you what format will be used to diplomatically put an end to this.”
But the Kremlin believes the numbers – time and sheer mass of manpower – are on its side.
The Russian president has likely calculated that his Western foes lack the strategic patience to commit to a war that will outlast most election cycles.
He is pitching himself against European nations, in particular those that chose to take a peace dividend after the end of the Cold War and disinvest significantly in their armed forces.
However, Moscow’s decision to launch its illegal invasion has galvanised Western allies in a way not seen since the Cold War.
Countries like Germany and France that for years have failed to meet a minimum requirement of the NATO military alliance to spend at least 2% of GDP on defence are suddenly digging into their coffers and pledging to rebuild their militaries, while also supplying an increasingly lethal array of arms to Ukraine.
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There is a belated realisation that a world order that grew from the ashes of the Second World War, which benefitted democracies to the detriment of authoritarian regimes, is suddenly at peril.
The big question, though, is whether this will be enough to enable Ukraine to claw back all of its land or whether some kind of messy accommodation may ultimately have to be reached.
A new aid system has opened its first distribution centres in Gaza, according to a US-backed organisation dealing with supplies.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began its operations in the territory on Monday, following the resignation of its director, Jake Wood, over its independence.
Gaza’s 2.3m population has been pushed towards famine by Israel’s almost three-month blockade.
Boxes of aid to be distributed across Rafah. Pic: Reuters.
The GHF said lorryloads of food – it did not say how many – had been delivered to its hubs, and distribution to Palestinians had begun.
“More trucks with aid will be delivered tomorrow, with the flow of aid increasing each day,” it said in a statement.
The controversial group, backed by Israel and the United States, has been rejected by the United Nations and other aid groups.
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People line up for food in Gaza
UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF.
They claim Israel is weaponising food, and the new distribution system will be ineffective and lead to further displacement of Palestinians.
They also argue the GHF will fail to meet local needs, and violates humanitarian principles that prohibit a warring party from controlling humanitarian assistance.
In the meantime, scores of Palestinians in Gaza, like Islam Abu Taima, have resorted to searching through rubbish to find food.
Palestinians are having to search through rubbish to find food
She found a small pile of cooked rice, scraps of bread, and a box with a few pieces of cheese inside it – which she said she will serve to her five children.
“We’re dying of hunger,” she told the Associated Press news agency.
“If we don’t eat, we’ll die.”
Islam Abu Taeima finds a piece of bread in a pile of rubbish in Gaza City. Pic: AP.
It is unclear how many of the GHF’s aid trucks will enter Gaza.
It claims it will reach one million Palestinians by the end of the week.
There are questions, however, over who is funding it and how it will work.
Trucks transporting aid for Palestinians in Rafah. Pic: Reuters.
It has been set up as part of an Israeli plan – rather than a UN distribution effort.
Israel, which suggested a similar plan earlier this year, has said it will not be involved in distributing the aid but supported the plan and would provide security.
It says aid deliveries into Gaza are taken by Hamas instead of going to civilians.
Aid groups, however, say there is no evidence of this happening on a systemic basis.
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Israel began to allow a limited amount of food into Gaza last week – after a blockade that prevented food, medicine, fuel and other goods from entering the Palestinian enclave.
A letter has been signed by hundreds of judges and lawyers calling on the UK government to impose trade sanctions on Israel.
It also calls for Israeli ministers to be sanctioned and the suspension of Israel from the UN over “serious breaches of international law”.
“Genocide is being perpetrated in Gaza or that, at a minimum, there is a serious risk of genocide,” the letter says.
The Israeli government has repeatedly dismissed allegations of genocide in Gaza.
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At least 31 dead after school attack
More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its ground invasion of Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, following the deadly attacks by the militant group on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw around 250 people taken hostage.
The health ministry’s figures do not differentiate between civilians and fighters in Gaza.
King Charles and Queen Camilla are being urged to use their visit to Canada to seek an apology for the abuse of British children.
Campaigners have called on them to pursue an apology for the “dire circumstances” suffered by so-called “Home Children” over decades.
More than 100,000 were shipped from orphan homes in the UK to Canada between 1869 and 1948 with many used as cheap labour, typically as farm workers and domestic servants. Many were subject to mistreatment and abuse.
Canada has resisted calls to follow the UK and Australia in apologising for its involvement in child migrant schemes.
King Charles and Mark Carney on Monday. Pic: PA
Campaigners for the Home Children say the royal visit presents a “great opportunity” for a change of heart.
“I would ask that King Charles uses his trip to request an apology,” John Jefkins told Sky News.
John’s father Bert was one of 115,000 British Home Children transported to Canada, arriving in 1914 with his brother Reggie.
“It’s really important for the Home Children themselves and for their descendants,” John said.
“It’s something we deserve and it’s really important for the healing process, as well as building awareness of the experience of the Home Children.
“They were treated very, very badly by the Canadian government at the time. A lot of them were abused, they were treated horribly. They were second-class citizens, lepers in a way.”
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John Jefkins
John added: “I think the King’s visit provides a great opportunity to reinforce our campaign and to pursue an apology because we’re part of the Commonwealth and King Charles is a new Head of the Commonwealth meeting a new Canadian prime minister. It’s a chance, for both, to look at the situation with a fresh eye.
“There’s much about this visit that looks on our sovereignty and who we are as Canadians, rightly so.
“I think it’s also right that in contemplating the country we built, we focus on the people who built it, many in the most trying of circumstances.”
The issue was addressed by the then Prince of Wales during a tour of Canada in May 2022. He said at the time: “We must find new ways to come to terms with the darker and more difficult aspects of the past.”
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King Charles and Queen Camilla are on a two-day visit to Canada.
On Tuesday, the King will deliver the Speech from the Throne to open the 45th session of Canada’s parliament.
Camilla was made Patron of Barnardo’s in 2016. The organisation sent tens of thousands of Home Children to Canada. She took on the role, having served as president since 2007.
Buckingham Palace has been contacted for comment.
A spokesperson for the Canadian government said: “The government of Canada is committed to keeping the memory of the British Home Children alive.
“Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada deeply regrets this unjust and discriminatory policy, which was in place from 1869 to 1948. Such an approach would have no place in modern Canada, and we must learn from past mistakes.”
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