Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Saturday the West was on course for a “joint victory” over Russia, while hailing military aid that enabled the retaking of Kherson (south).
Ukraine’s national anthem sounded in Kherson after Moscow on Friday withdrew its forces from the city, which was the first to fall after Vladimir Putin ordered his army to invade Ukraine last February.
“Very few people believed that Ukraine would survive,” Kuleba said in a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of a Southeast Asia summit in Cambodia.
“Only together can we prevail and expel Russia from Ukraine. We are on the right track,” said Mr. Kuleba.
“It is happening, and our victory will be our common victory – a victory for all peace-loving nations around the world.”
Kuleba said Ukrainians celebrating the liberation of Kherson also shed “tears of gratitude” to the United States for billions of dollars in military aid.
Mr Blinken hailed the “remarkable courage” of Ukraine’s military and people and pledged that US support “will continue for as long as it takes” to defeat Russia.
Earlier in the day, during a bilateral meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the sidelines of the summit, Kouleba said the struggle to liberate the country is ongoing.
“We win battles on the pitch. But the war goes on,” he told reporters in Phnom Penh.
“I understand that everyone wants this war to end as soon as possible. We’re certainly the ones who want it more than everyone else,” he said.
“But of course, as long as the war continues and we see Russia mobilizing more conscripts and bringing more arms to Ukraine, we will continue to count on your continued support,” he also noted.
In October, Australia promised Ukraine 30 additional Bushmaster armored vehicles and allocated 70 Australian Defense Forces to train Ukrainian soldiers in Britain.
Mr Albanese said the continued “targeting of Ukrainian civilians by Vladimir Putin’s forces is reprehensible”.
For his part, Blinken condemned Russia’s campaign to “brutalize” Ukraine by attacking civilian energy infrastructure.
“It’s something that should also shock the world,” Mr Blinken said.