Tears, defiance and new tanks in Ukraine for war anniversary
Published:Friday | February 24, 2023 | 8:53 AM
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine's leader pledged to push for victory in 2023 as he and other Ukrainians on Friday marked the sombre anniversary of the Russian invasion that upended their lives and Europe's security.
It was Ukraine's “longest day,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, but the country's dogged resistance a year on has proven that “every tomorrow is worth fighting for.”
On a day of commemorations, reflection and tears, the Ukrainian president's defiant tone captured the national mood of resilience in the face of Europe's biggest and deadliest war since World War II.
Zelenskyy, who has himself become a symbol of Ukraine's refusal to bow to Moscow, said Ukrainians proved themselves to be invincible during “a year of pain, sorrow, faith and unity.”
“We have been standing for exactly one year,” Zelenskyy said.
February 24, 2022, he said, was “the longest day of our lives. The hardest day of our modern history. We woke up early and haven't fallen asleep since.”
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 invasion, combat between Russian-backed forces and Ukrainian troops has raged in the country's east since 2014.
New video from there shot with a drone for The Associated Press showed how the town of Marinka has been razed, along with others.
And the killing continued: Russian shelling killed another three civilians and wounded 19 others in the most recent 24-hour spell, Ukraine's presidential office said.
Around the country, Ukrainians looked both back and forward.
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