“We will win,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video on Saturday, February 24. “That’s what we’re fighting for. 730 days in our lives. And we will win, on the best day of our lives,” he said from Gostomel military airport near Kiev, the scene of a battle with the Russians in Ukraine in the first days of the invasion. The Ukrainian president was accompanied by Western leaders who came to mark the second anniversary of the Russian invasion. Follow our live stream.
Emmanuel Macron assures Ukraine of his support. The head of state warned Vladimir Putin that one should not expect the Europeans to become “tired.” “Two years of war. Battered and bruised, but still standing. Ukraine is fighting for itself, for its ideals, for our Europe. Our commitment to them will not weaken,” Emmanuel Macron wrote on the social network prepared. But we must not lose hope,” said Jens Stoltenberg, the head of NATO.
Moscow promises “revenge” for Western sanctions. Dmitry Medvedev, number two on the Russian Security Council, promised Russia revenge for new Western sanctions announced by Joe Biden on the second anniversary of Russia's offensive against Ukraine and the death of his opponent Alexei Navalny. At the same time, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited his troops in Ukraine. “Today the advantage in terms of balance of power is on our side,” he promised the Russian soldiers.
Justin Trudeau and Giorgia Meloni visit Kiev. The Canadian Prime Minister arrived in the Ukrainian capital. “Allies arrive in Kiev,” a spokesperson for Ukrainian Railways wrote on Facebook, posting a photo of Justin Trudeau and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, getting off the train at the Kiev train station. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also made a surprise visit to Kiev on Saturday to chair a virtual meeting of the G7 together with Volodymyr Zelensky.
Arrests near the Kremlin. According to the website Rus.news and the SOTA Telegram channel, Russian police arrested at least two people on Saturday during a gathering of wives of mobilized Russian soldiers demanding their return from Ukraine. Every Saturday, in a symbolic action near the Kremlin, military wives lay flowers on the grave of the unknown soldier to demand his return from the front.