“This year should be the year of the beginning of a real, lasting peace,” Zelensky told Kyiv’s backers in the capital [GETTY]
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday called for “real, lasting peace” this year as European leaders gathered in Kyiv for a summit on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion.
Russia said it would only halt the invasion if a deal could be reached that “suits” its interests, and it accused Europe of wanting to prolong the fighting.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to launch what he called a “special military operation” in February 2022 set off the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II.
Tens of thousands of soldiers from both sides and Ukrainian civilians have been killed. Cities across the country’s south and east have been flattened, and millions have been forced to flee their homes.
“This year should be the year of the beginning of a real, lasting peace,” Zelensky told Kyiv’s backers in the capital.
“Putin will not give us peace or give it to us in exchange for something. We have to win peace through strength and wisdom and unity,” he added.
EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen also warned that despite opening talks with the United States on ending the conflict, Putin was not about to back down.
“Putin is trying harder than ever to win this war on the ground. His goal remains Ukraine’s capitulation,” she said.
She also called the war in Ukraine “the most central and consequential crisis for Europe’s future.”
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has offered to help broker a deal, told the summit he strongly supported “Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence” and said both sides must be represented “fairly” in talks.
