The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has said that he will fight to establish the issue of his country’s rights by sticking to the battlefield and any talks to end Russia’s three-year-long aggression.
It can be understood from his speech that this year is a very difficult year for the war-torn Ukraine, which has been fighting the well-resourced Russian army for almost three years.
Russia has encroached on seven times more Ukrainian territory in 2024 than in 2023, according to an AFP analysis. US military and political support is likely to decline when Republican leader Donald Trump takes the White House in mid-2025.
“Every day in the coming year, we must all fight for Ukraine from our respective positions, both on the battlefield and at the negotiating table, because only such a Ukraine will be respected and its voice heard,” Zelensky said in a speech to the nation.
“Let 2025 be our year. The year of Ukraine. We know that peace will not be given to us as a gift, but we will do everything to stop Russia and end the war. This is what we all want,” he added.
US President Joe Biden’s administration announced nearly $6 billion in military and budgetary aid for Ukraine in a bid to support Kiev before Trump took office in January.
Republican leader Trump has said he will end the conflict “within 24 hours” of his inauguration. US President-elect Trump’s statement raises the possibility that the Kremlin will be forced to give up all the territory it currently controls in Ukraine for peace.
Zelensky said, “I have no doubt that the new American president is willing and able to achieve peace in Ukraine and end Putin’s aggression.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the “courage and bravery” of Russian soldiers in his New Year’s Eve address on Tuesday, though he did not specifically mention the war in Ukraine. Agency