2024-02-23 20:37:33
Saturday marks the second anniversary of the start of Russia’s brutal war of aggression once morest neighboring Ukraine. Several high-ranking Western politicians are expected in Kiev to mark the occasion, including EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. There are also numerous commemorative events – even far beyond the attacked country. Several rallies are also planned in Vienna, including by “Russians once morest War”, as well as a service in St. Stephen’s Cathedral.
Russia, which annexed the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula of Crimea in 2014 in violation of international law, began a full invasion once morest the neighboring country on February 24, 2022. Since then, according to the United Nations, more than 10,000 civilians have been killed, although the actual number is likely to be significantly higher. So around twice as many people were injured. Exact casualties among military personnel are kept secret. According to estimates by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), around 6.5 million people have fled Ukraine abroad since the start of the war. Another 3.7 million or so were forcibly displaced within the country.
While Ukraine recorded notable military successes in the first year of the war and was able to liberate some occupied regions, things are currently looking much worse from Kiev’s perspective. Last year, a counteroffensive fell well short of expectations, while Western military aid stalled. Only a few days ago the Russian army managed to occupy the long-contested and completely destroyed city of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine. In total, almost a fifth of Ukrainian territory is currently under Russian occupation.
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