ALBAWABA - Feb. 24, marks the third anniversary of the Russian war on Ukraine. In 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a 'special military operation' in Kyiv against the latter's bid to join NATO.
On Monday, EU leaders arrived in Kyiv to mark the third anniversary of the Russian invasion, according to AFP. "We are in Kyiv today, because Ukraine is Europe. In this fight for survival, it is not only the destiny of Ukraine that is at stake. It's Europe's destiny," EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen wrote.
Yesterday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X: "NATO is the most cost-effective option for preventing another war. It is the simplest and most logical solution."
He added: "If Ukraine does not join NATO, we will have to create NATO within Ukraine, which means maintaining an army strong enough to repel aggression, financing it, producing and storing enough of our own weapons, and negotiating with our partners about their participation to deter Russia from starting another war."
Marking three years of the Ukraine-Russia war:
CNN reported that Ukraine had lost control of about 11 percent of its land since the start of the Russian war in 2022, as mentioned by data from the Institute for the Study of War, a US-based conflict monitor.
UN’s refugee agency said that by last year, more than 6.3 million Ukrainian refugees had fled the war and are living in Europe; with 1.2 million in Germany, and about 1 million in Poland, in addition to 390,000 in the Czech Republic.
Over 40,000 civilians have been killed or injured in Ukraine during the three years of conflict, according to the UN Human Rights Office. It is worth noting that 669 of those killed were children.
On the other hand, BBC Russia reported that more than 95,000 people fighting for Russia's military were killed in the war as it entered its fourth year.
