KYIV, Ukraine (Dispatches) — Ukraine’s leader pledged Friday to push for victory in 2023 as he and other Ukrainians marked the somber anniversary of the war with Russia.
It was Ukraine’s “longest day,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said. He said Ukrainians proved themselves to be invincible during “a year of pain, sorrow, faith and unity.”
Ukrainians wept at memorials for their tens of thousands of dead — a toll growing inexorably as fighting rages in eastern Ukraine in particular. Although Friday marked the anniversary of the full-scale war, combat between Russian-backed forces and Ukrainian troops has raged in the country’s east since 2014.
China on Friday called for a ceasefire — an idea Ukraine has previously rejected for fear that a pause would allow Russia to regroup militarily. A top aide to Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak, said China’s proposals, if implemented, would freeze the war and lead to Ukraine’s defeat.
A 12-point paper issued by China’s Foreign Ministry also urged an end to sanctions that aim to squeeze Russia’s economy.
That suggestion also looks like a non-starter, given that Western nations are working to further tighten the sanctions noose, not loosen it. The UK government imposed more sanctions Friday on firms supplying military equipment to Moscow and said it would bar exports to Russia of aircraft parts and other components.
Ukraine is readying another military push to roll back Russian forces with the help of weaponry that has poured in from the West. NATO member Poland said Friday that it had delivered four advanced Leopard 2A4 tanks, making it the first country to hand the German-made armor to Ukraine.
The prime minister of Poland said on a visit to Kyiv that more Leopards are coming. Poland’s defense
minister said contributions from other countries would help form Ukraine’s first Leopard battalion of 31 tanks.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday that Russia is prepared to take the war in Ukraine as far as its border with Poland.
Medvedev, who is now deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said Moscow must “push back the borders that threaten our country as far as possible, even if these are the borders of Poland”.
In a lengthy statement on his Telegram channel, Medvedev said he believed Russia will be victorious in the war.
“It’s been a year since the special operation has been going on,” Medvedev said. “Victory will be achieved. We all want this to happen as soon as possible. And that day will come.”
Medvedev also accused Western countries of having no interest in putting an end to the war.
“The motives of our country’s main enemies are obvious: To weaken Russia as much as possible, to bleed us for a long time. Therefore, they are not interested in ending the conflict. But sooner or later, according to historical laws, they will do it. And then, there will be some kind of agreement,” he said.
Poland’s Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on Thursday that his country, a NATO member, is bolstering security at its border with Belarus and Russia’s Kaliningrad region as “part of our defense and deterrence strategy.”
The United States on Friday announced new sanctions against Russia and its allies, new export controls and tariffs aimed at undermining Moscow’s ability to wage war.
Washington also said it would provide $2 billion in more weaponry for Kyiv as it prepares for a spring offensive. The aid did not include F-16 fighter jets that Ukraine has requested.
The United States joined with G7 allies with plans to impose sanctions that will target 200 individuals and entities and a dozen Russian financial institutions.
The Pentagon said the additional $2 billion in military aid for Ukraine includes more ammunition for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and a number of different types of drones including Switchblades and the CyberLux K8.
In a statement marking the anniversary, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said the United States had committed more than $32 billion in military aid over the past year to Ukraine, including 8,500 Javelin anti-armor systems and 38 HIMARS.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, asked if the United States will send F-16s jets, told CNN on Thursday that they are not the key capability needed for Ukraine’s upcoming spring offensive, but more for long-term defensive needs.
In a video address during the annual “Defender of the Fatherland Day” holiday, Putin promised a “high-quality development of all components of the armed forces” in particular “new strike systems, reconnaissance and communication equipment, drones and artillery systems”.
“A modern, efficient army and navy are a guarantee of the country’s security and sovereignty, a guarantee of its stable development and its future,” Putin said. “Now our industry is rapidly increasing the production of an entire range of conventional weapons.”
The last weeks have seen Russia mount infantry assaults across frozen ground in battles described by both sides as the bloodiest of the war.
Putin said Russia’s new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads will be deployed over the course of 2023.
“We pay special attention, as before, to strengthening the nuclear triad. This year, the first launchers of the Sarmat missile system will be put on combat duty.”
The prime ministers of Poland and Denmark said after meeting in Copenhagen on Thursday that Western European countries should be faster and more generous in supplying Ukraine with weapons.
“Let’s be frank. If not for the United States, Poland and the United Kingdom, probably Ukraine would not have survived the first couple of weeks or the first couple of months,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters.
Morawiecki and his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen stressed the urgency of delivering support to Kiev, saying Europe could not allow Ukraine to be defeated.
China’s deputy UN Ambassador Dai Bing told the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday that one year into the Ukraine war “brutal facts offer an ample proof that sending weapons will not bring peace.”
“Adding fuel to the fire will only exacerbate tensions,” he said.
Western powers have provided Ukraine with billions of dollars in weapons since Russia invaded. However, discord is widening among allies on the dangerous turn which the conflict is taking.
European Union countries on Thursday failed to agree on a new set of sanctions against Russia, missing a planned deadline to have them in place for the one-year anniversary of the war.
The 27 EU countries need to agree unanimously to introduce sanctions. Reuters, citing unnamed diplomatic sources, said Poland was blocking the package over proposed exemptions to a ban on EU imports of Russian synthetic rubber.
Polish diplomats said the exemptions were so big they would render the sanctions ineffective. Other sources said the exemptions were proposed to accommodate Italy, backed by Germany.
Representatives of the member states were reportedly due to meet again on Friday to try seal a deal.