The Russians didn’t expect the Ukrainians to hold out this long, but they have and at one point the Russians were rubbing their hands with glee as countries had to choose whether to support Ukraine financially or not.
The majority of the world has chosen to do so, but that has strengthened after the world saw the horrors of the Bucha massacre, complete with Russian soldiers looting bodies and sending the stolen items back to Russia.
Today, Zelenskyy has vowed to de-occupy and liberate regions that Russia has invaded, and to reunite the 25 regions of Ukraine as a whole.
We don’t care what army you have, we only care about our land. We will fight for it until the end.
For us, Ukraine is the whole of Ukraine. All 25 regions without any concession or compromise.
The world waits to see what Russia has planned.
Day 182 (24 August/six months since the war began)
Air raid sirens sound over 17 regions in Ukraine on a day where most should be out celebrating. It is 31 years since the former Soviet state broke free from the USSR, and other neighbouring former Soviet states understand the difficulties of the transition. Ukraine is a young struggling democracy, and that must be recognised when people criticise their lack of infrastructure when it comes to the military.
There were 189 alarms in Kyiv on 24 August 2022, which is the highest number ever on record
Countries have offered their congratulations to Ukraine, including Belarus who is a Russian client state.
Overnight, the Kyiv area of Vyshgorod was hit by two missiles as Russians entered from Belarus, so any wishes sent were obviously sent in bad faith and for public consumption. Finland, Latvia, and Lithuania have been vocal about their support as has neighbouring Romania and Poland. Russia made no public comment.
Each have also reaffirmed their support for Ukraine until they win the war. This is an important message to Putin and Russia, who are hoping that the impending recession and energy crisis will lead to countries ceasing their support for Ukraine.
The Portuguese Foreign Minister also visited Kyiv and offered support to Ukraine.
Reports claim that many young Russians have left Russia already and will not return as they do not believe there is a life for them in terms of their hopes and ambitions. Many are forming their own societies around the world because they know they cannot protest in Russia without getting killed or imprisoned.
Images of the cages in the Mariupol philharmonic concert hall have been released, and are supposed to be used to contain the Azvostal prisoners during a sham trial that the Russians have planned. The UN Human Rights office has declared that this would be a war crime, to humiliate prisoners of war, and that all prisoners have the right to a fair trial.
Boris Johnson visited Kyiv and offered another £54 ($63.5) million in supportive aid to Ukraine, while the US also offered $3 (£2.5) billion in aid.
Ben Wallace (UK Defence Secretary) stated that there is a current stalemate as Putin hopes that European support will wane and countered it with a statement:
The simple reality os we see this as a direct threat not only to Ukraine, but to our values, and the world is still pretty solid and determined.
A Russian missile hit a passenger train station (as opposed to a military line) in Chaplyne, Dnipro, killing 25 people with around 50 injured.
The attacks happened as Zelenskyy was about to address the UN Security Council, where he told them that Russia must be stopped. Ukraine is merely defending itself.
This is how Russia prepared for the UN Security Council meeting. (Zelenskyy during the UN Security Council meeting).
Zelenskyy and his wife Olena attended a ceremony to honour the fallen Ukrainian soldiers who have died to protect the country. They laid flowers at the Wall of Memory of the Fallen Defenders of Ukraine.
Zelenskyy also gave a rousing speech, stating at the start of the war they wanted peace, and now they seek victory to protect their land,
Canada imposes new sanctions against Russian individuals, and adds $3.85 million in funding. Despite the sanctions, more than 3,600 shipments of Russian products have entered US ports, so clearly there needs to be more done to isolate Russia.
Zaporizhzhia is still a major concern where missiles have struck the area. In the nuclear power plant, two Ukrainians have been detained by Russians accused of handing information to the Ukrainian authorities. Also in Zaporizhzhia , a Russian proxy was killed by a car bomb, probably planted by the Resistance. Ivan Sushko was appointed by the Russians to control the occupied village of Mykhailivka, and the locals are showing what they do to traitors. This is also why the Daria Dugina incident is being blamed on the Ukrainians, but these car bomb attacks are on local traitors.
Yevgeny Roizman, an anti-Putin activist was arrested in Yekaterinburg, Russia on this day as an example to the rest of the country. He was the last prominent opposition politician to be detained, as many have left Russia already. The charge is to call the special military operation an invasion., and for criticising Lavrov on Twitter where he received a fine. He has been fined four times, but refused to flee Russia, choosing to fight.
As a popular political figure, who had been the Mayor of Yekaterinburg until 2018. More than 16,400 people have been detained in Russia for anti-war crimes, and no doubt the Russians will also plant evidence to ensure a prolonged detention.
Bravo Zelensky! I know he is vowing to liberate Russian annexed territories, by doing so he is also making super powers like China re consider if expansion of territories is planned.
I know people have mixed feelings about Boris Johnson but everyone must agree he has been steadfast in his support of Ukraine and should be given credit for that. Here in Toronto, Ukrainian Independence Day was marked by a ceremony in front of City Hall, the Canadian flag was replaced by the Ukrainian flag and the Mayor spoke of Canada's unwavering support for Ukraine, while commemorating the six month anniversary of the illegal invasion.