Ukraine updates: Kyiv marks 2 years since Russian invasion

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba expressed optimism about his country's future in the European Union on Saturday. 

"Two years ago, I could not have imagined that in 2024 there would be so many reasons to be proud to be European," Kuleba said during a joint press conference with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

The diplomats held a joint press conference at the Palanca border crossing located between Moldova and Ukraine, with Baerbock saying the day could also be a "day of joy" because the European flag could be seen at the border crossing.

Kuleba said Ukraine and Europe had traversed a common path over the past two years since the start of the war. Europe had asserted itself as a strong player that was making "ambitious historical decisions," adding: "History is being written right now."

European Union leaders agreed to open membership talks with Kyiv last December, but it is expected that it will be many more years before Ukraine can join the bloc.

G7 leaders participating in a virtual summit hosted in Rome, have promised to do what they can "to ensure Ukraine prevails in fighting for its future."

Those gathered also pledged to wear down Russia's ability to continue its war of aggression, saying, "We will continue to raise the cost of Russia's war, degrade Russia's sources of revenue and impede its efforts to build its war machine."

G7 leaders promised to help Kyiv meet its financial obligations and assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that he can count on G7 assistance, saying, "As Ukraine enters the third year of this relentless war, its government and its people can count on the G7's support for as long as it takes."

Among the ideas discussed on Saturday were efforts to "limit Russia’s future energy revenues," as well as plans to keep Russian sovereign assets frozen, "until Moscow pays for the damage it has caused to Ukraine."

Leaders also called on China and Iran to refrain from assisting Russia's war effort.

Lastly, G7 leaders called on the Kremlin to "fully clarify" opposition figure Alexei Navalny's death in a Siberian penal colony last week.

A statement added: "We also pay tribute to the extraordinary courage of Alexei Navalny and stand with his wife, children, and loved ones. He sacrificed his life fighting against the Kremlin's corruption and for free and fair elections in Russia."

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday marked the second anniversary of Russia's invasion of his country, among other things, by telling G7 leaders that his beleaguered nation is counting on their military aid.

Speaking remotely to a virtual meeting of G7 leaders, Zelenskyy said, "You know very well what we need to keep our skies protected, to strengthen our military on land, and you know what we need to sustain and continue our successes at sea. And you know perfectly well that we need all this in time — and we are counting on you."

Saturday saw Zelenskyy sign bilateral security agreements with both Italy, which hosted the G7 summit; and Canada, which promised some $2.2 billion (€2.03 billion) in military aid.

In July, G7 countries attending a NATO summit in Vilnius promised Kyiv "long-term security guarantees."

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who is in Ukraine for the 2nd anniversary of the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, has traveled to the southern port city of Odesa.

Baerbock crossed the border from Moldova into Odesa with her Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, after the two took part in the UN General Assembly and UN Security Council meetings on Friday.

She told a reporter from AFP news agency that walking into Ukraine with Kuleba was like "a next step to European integration and into the European Union."

In an op-ed for the German newspaper Bild published earlier Saturday, Baerbock called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to "end this war."

"Release the Ukrainian children. Withdraw your troops. End this war. Then there would be peace tomorrow. And the whole world could finally breathe again," Baerbock wrote.

The foreign minister also accused Putin of having a lust for conquest and being hesitant to make peace.

"As shocking as it is: Putin doesn't want negotiations. He doesn't want peace — he wants 'conquests.' He says that himself."

Baerbock said that while Ukraine was earlier prepared to make major concessions to end the war, "instead of a [Russian] withdrawal, there was Bucha," referring to the Russian massacre of civilians and soldiers in the Kyiv suburb in the early days of the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had signed a bilateral security agreement with Canada and Italy in Kyiv.

The deals come on the 2nd anniversary of the launch of Russia's full-scale assault on Ukrainian territory.

Zelenskyy said he signed the deals with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni who were visiting Kyiv on Saturday to mark the occasion.

The two countries are the most recent to join a growing list that includes the UK, Germany, France and Denmark who have already concluded long-term security deals, to last until Ukraine can become a member of the NATO military alliance.

Canada also said it would provide 3.02 billion Canadian dollars (US$2.2 billion, €2.03 billion) in financial and military support for Ukraine this year.

Polish President Andrzej Duda said his country would "continue to support the fight for Ukraine's freedom" despite differences between the two countries that have hurt ties recently.

Duda noted how exactly two years ago, he had left Kyiv, having offered Poland's support to fend off Russia's military aggression, adding that "nothing has changed in this respect."

"Poland supported, is supporting and will continue to support the fight for Ukraine's freedom," Duda wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, marking the second anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Poland's Foreign Affairs Ministry, meanwhile, posted: "Two years ago, a Russian dictator attacked Ukraine in the name of a sick ideology. Ukraine's heroic resistance prevented this plan from coming to fruition and awakened Europe, reminding it of the significance of its values."

The ministry added: "Ukraine, you are not alone."

Ukraine and Poland have recently been at odds over Ukraine's duty-free agricultural exports, which Polish farmers say undercuts their farm produce.

Polish farmers have attempted to block the border between the two countries and another protest is scheduled for Sunday.

Several thousand people gathered in Germany's capital Berlin for a solidarity rally for Ukraine exactly two years after Russia's full-scale invasion began.

Many attendees waved Ukrainian flags for the commemoration at the Brandenburg Gate, while others shared their anger over Russia's aggression with written statements on banners and posters such as "Russia always lies" or "The devil is in the Kremlin."

Earlier, Greenpeace activists projected slogans to the outside of the Russian embassy, including: "Stop the killing" and "Hands off Ukraine."

Rallies were also held in Cologne, Frankfurt and other German cities.

 

Commemorations of the war anniversary took place in the UK, where in London an interfaith prayer service was held at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in Mayfair.

The service was followed by a gathering at Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park and a procession to Trafalgar Square, where an afternoon vigil was due to be held.

In Scotland, politicians and religious leaders attended a service at Edinburgh Castle to mark the anniversary.

First Minister Humza Yousaf laid a wreath at the Scottish National War Memorial alongside Andrii Kuslii, from the consulate of Ukraine.

Britain's King Charles III has praised the "determination and strength" of the Ukrainian people in a message to mark the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion.

"The determination and strength of the Ukrainian people continues to inspire, as the unprovoked attack on their land, their lives and livelihoods enters a third, tragic, year," he wrote in a message published to X, formerly Twitter.

"Despite the tremendous hardship and pain inflicted upon them, Ukrainians continue to show the heroism with which the world associates them so closely," the British monarch added. "Theirs is true valour, in the face of indescribable aggression."

Charles also praised the people of Britain and other allies of Kyiv, who he said "remain at the forefront of international efforts to support Ukraine."

"My heart goes out to all those affected, as I remember them in my thoughts and prayers," he added.

Ukraine's domestic defense industry is prioritizing "ammunition, aerial defense and drones," to increase the country's military capabilities against Russia, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksandr Kamyshyn told DW on Saturday.

In an interview to mark the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion, Kamyshyn also praised Germany's defense sector, which he said was "quite organized and focused on working more with Ukraine."

"We have a number of projects running with Germany, in armored vehicles, ammunition and drones. They have just started, they will take some time, but we are on track," he said.

Kamyshyn said Ukraine was working on "producing more [ammunition]" domestically. But he acknowledged that Kyiv will "always be dependent on Western supply" of munitions.

Asked whether he can foresee an end to the war, Kamyshyn told DW: "Yes I see it. The day will come when we will win this war." 

A Russian drone struck a building in Odesa, southern Ukraine, killing one person and severely injuring at least three others, Ukrainian authorities said.

Moscow's forces struck the port city for a second night running late Friday, this time hitting a residential building.

"One of the downed drones crashed into a residential area of Odesa, causing destruction and a fire in an Odesa courtyard," Ukrainian defense officials posted on Telegram.

"Although the fire was quickly extinguished, one of the apartments was completely destroyed," it added.

Regional governor Oleg Kiper wrote on Telegram that the body of a man was found beneath the rubble.

Kiper added that a 72-year-old woman suffered severe burns and a fracture and had been trapped "under the rubble for almost two hours."

The official also said a mother and daughter had been taken to the hospital in "serious condition."

Ukraine's military said the drone was one of five it downed over the Odesa region in the past 24 hours.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has handed over 50 white all-terrain vehicles to the Ukrainian police and prosecuting authorities while in Kyiv to mark the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion.

The white all-terrain vehicles will help "to bring security and stability in the territories liberated by the brave Ukrainian Armed Forces, and support the population," she wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

In a statement, the European Commission said 30 of the vehicles were earmarked for the police and the remaining 20 for the office of the public prosecutor.

The vehicles form part of a broacher EU support plan for the Ukrainian authorities to facilitate public services in so-called high-risk environments, such as war zones or areas recently liberated from Russian occupation.

Russian police have detained at least four people, including reporters, at a weekly protest by wives of soldiers fighting in Ukraine.

Saturday's arrests outside the Kremlin came on the second anniversary of the launch of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Authorities have mainly detained journalists, as well as men at the protests, while declining to arrest women who are demonstrating.

At the protests, women have been laying red flowers at the tomb of the unknown soldier outside the Kremlin.

"In our times, even laying flowers is expressing a civic position that carries certain risks," one of the women taking part in the protest told SOTA, an independent media outlet.

Under legislation introduced in Russia shortly after the invasion began, it has been made illegal to spread "false information" about the Russian military and its activities.

Such protests touching on the invasion of Ukraine — which the Kremlin still terms a "special military operation" — can be, and mostly are, classified as constituting such "false information." 

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reiterated that Ukraine will defeat Russia, in remarks made to mark the second anniversary of the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion.

"We have been fighting for this for 730 days of our lives. We will win on the greatest day of our lives," Zelenskyy told an open-air anniversary event at Kyiv's Hostomel airport— one of Russia's targets in the first days of the assault.

"Any normal person wants the war to end. But none of us will allow Ukraine to end," Zelenskyy said, saying that the conflict must be resolved "on our terms", with a "just" peace.

Zelenskyy was speaking alongside the Canadian, Italian and Belgian prime ministers and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, have visited Kyiv to mark the anniversary.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni stressed the success Ukraine had in driving Russian forces from the airport and the area around the capital in the first weeks of the invasion.

"We are here today to say thanks to these men and women who on February 24 two years ago did not run away and instead fought," Meloni said. "This place is a symbol of Moscow's failures, a symbol of Ukrainian pride."

The environmental organization Greenpeace has joined in with other nationwide protests in Germany on the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Activists projected the slogans "Stop the killing" and "Hands off Ukraine" onto the facade of the Russian Embassy in Berlin.

Greenpeace said the protest action was to highlight "the direct responsibility of the Russian leadership under President Vladimir Putin for the death or injury of probably more than 500,000 people."

"Putin's decision to violate international law and attack Ukraine on February 24 has brought death and endless suffering to people in the Ukraine," as well "the death and injury of hundreds of thousands of his own citizens who are having to fight a senseless war in Ukraine."

A similar protest action by the exiled Ukrainian group Vitsche was previously banned by authorities as possibly denigrating the "dignity" of the embassy.

Other protests in Germany to mark the anniversary will include a rally at the Brandenburg Gate in the capital, which, like last year, will be lit in the colors of the Ukrainian flag.

The head of Ukraine's armed forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, has expressed confidence that his country will defeat the Russian invasion, which on Saturday entered its third year.

Victory will come for certain "because light always conquers darkness," Syrskyi said on Telegram.

He recalled the doubts voiced by many that Ukraine would be able to repel a Russian advance on the capital, Kyiv, in the first days of the invasion.

"As thousands of columns of Russian invaders entered Ukraine from all directions, as thousands of rockets and bombs fell on our country, no one in the world believed that we would survive," he said. "No one believed it, but Ukraine did it! It believed, took up the fight and survived."

He said Ukraine was still determined after two years of conflict "to fight for every meter of our country," while conceding that a summer counteroffensive had "not brought the desired result."

Syrskyi, who was formerly commander of Ukrainian ground forces, was made commander-in-chief of the entire armed forces in February after the counteroffensive's lack of any major success.