KYIV, Ukraine — President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine marked the anniversary of the Russian invasion on Friday with a display of defiance, as anti-Kremlin protests raged around the world and the United States made a pledge important new weapons for the country.
Even as he and his allies braced for a protracted war, Zelensky held a lengthy press conference in the capital Kyiv to rally international support, claiming that Ukraine and its allies The alliance providing weapons and other aid will prevail “if we stay like a strong fist and our partners unite for our victory.”
“I’m sure there’s going to be a win,” he said. “I don’t think, I know, it’s going to happen this year. We have everything for it: motivation, trust, friends, diplomacy.”
China has published a sketch for a peaceful resolution that the West sees as a vague lack of intelligence that may only serve to bolster Russia’s interests. The move comes amid warnings from the United States that Beijing could send weapons to Russia, which could dramatically shift the balance in a war in which both sides are running out of vital weapons.
Mr. Zelensky was careful not to say anything that might provoke Beijing, Moscow’s powerful ally whom he hopes will largely stay on the sidelines of the war – continuing to strike a lasting balance between condemning Russia while avoiding direct criticism of China. When asked about China on Friday, he said little about their proposal and only expressed hope that it would not arm Russia.
As for the prospect of peace negotiations, the warring nations continued to talk to each other, each setting preconditions that the other would call surrender. Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vasily A. Nebenzya, told the Security Council that his country would only negotiate on how to achieve its goals in Ukraine.
Zelensky said Russia must end its violence against Ukraine and respect Ukraine’s sovereignty before any talks can be held, and asked if anything could be negotiated with a country that continues to kill civilians. .
“Those civilians don’t have guns in their hands, they have their children in their hands,” he said.
As the Security Council met in New York to discuss the war, protesters outside held up an effigy of Russian President Vladimir V. Putin with bloody hands. In Brussels, hundreds of people gathered under a freezing drizzle outside the European Parliament to raise a giant Ukrainian flag, sing the Ukrainian national anthem and chant “Slava Ukraini,” or “Glory to Ukraine.” World leaders issued statements condemning the invasion and noting that a year of bloodshed and destruction has passed with no sign of ending.
In Buenos Aires, people gathered in front of the barricaded Russian embassy, playing Russian national anthems on loudspeakers, waving Ukrainian flags and carrying banners reading “Russia without Putin”.
“This fight is a lie,” said Aleksandr Fitasov, 35, one of the event organizers in Buenos Aires. “It’s just to preserve President Putin’s power, to keep him as president, and to satisfy his imperial ambitions to recreate great Russia, with all its territories.”
Many of the protesters in Buenos Aires were among the thousands of Russians who fled their country during the war, including some infants whose parents hoped that foreign birth certificates and passports would bring give their children a brighter future. Russian opposition groups said they were holding events in 100 cities in 44 countries over the next three days to protest the war.
Even in Russia, where dissent has been criminalized, there were sporadic protests on Friday that ranged from subtle to obvious — and at least 20 arrests, according to reports. human rights group. In a village near Saint Petersburg, Dmitri Skurikhin painted the names of cities that Russia had ravaged on his storefronts, and knelt outside with a sign that read “Forgive us, Ukraine” – the act could land him in jail for 5 years.
In a Moscow park, a steady stream of people lay flowers in front of a statue of Ukrainian poet Larysa Kosach-Kvitka, better known as Lesya Ukrainka, while two police officers watch from a police car parked nearby. “For Russia to become a free and democratic country, it must lose this particular war, for the government to change,” said one of the flower bearers, Nikolai, an 18-year-old student whose full name is withheld for his safety.
In general, however, the mood in Moscow is one of business as usual, with many saying they give little thought to war, or Russia’s isolation.
There was little news on Friday from the battlefield, where the war had caused unimaginable damage: hundreds of thousands of people were killed or wounded, hundreds of billions of dollars in damage, Cities and towns were almost completely flattenedmillions of Ukrainians became homeless, and millions more struggled in the winter with insufficient shelter, heat or electricity — or even, in some cases, enough food and water.
War has been resounding across the globe, reshaping and strengthening alliances, and influencing everything from grain prices to energy policy. But even though Russia has I feel more isolated from the West and sanctions have taken a toll on the country’s economy, they have failed to bring it to its knees. China, India and other countries continue to trade with Moscow and give it diplomatic support.
Throughout the war, China presented itself as neutral, even as it aligned itself more closely with Russia. Proposal made on Friday called for peace talks and a ceasefire, although Russia still holds large swathes of Ukraine’s territory in four provinces it claims to have annexed. It does not call for the withdrawal of Russian troops.
Beijing repeated points it had made earlier, without naming any countries as perpetrators or victims, in language broad enough to be relatable. China’s statement called for “respect for the sovereignty of all nations,” but made no mention of Putin’s insistence that Ukraine is not a real country and only a temporary estranged part. of Russia.
And it calls for an end to sanctions imposed without Security Council approval, where both Russia and China have veto powers – a reference to penalties imposed by the United States, the European Union, and the United States. Europe and Great Britain imposed on Russia.
Wang Yi, China’s top foreign policy official, told the Security Council: “Security is not a privilege enjoyed only by a few countries. “The security of one country should not be pursued at the expense of others.”
Mr. Nebenzya, the Russian ambassador, praised China’s statement, while at the same meeting, Antony J. Blinken, the US secretary of state, dismissed it without mentioning it directly.
“Members of this council should not fall into the false equivalence of calling on both sides to stop fighting or calling on other countries to stop supporting Ukraine in the name of peace,” he said.
In this war, there are invaders and victims.
The Biden administration on Friday announced a new round of sanctions against 200 Russian individuals and entities. It also announced the release $2 billion in additional military aid, bringing the U.S. total to about $32 billion over the past year, though President Biden on Friday night said in an interview with ABC News that he “rules out” sending F fighter jets. -16 for Ukraine at the moment. The European Union, UK and Canada also announced new sanctions.
When Zelensky was asked at a news conference about the possibility of China sending weapons to Russia, he initially dodged the question, but minutes later it was asked again.
“I really want to believe that China will not supply Russia with weapons,” he said, adding that it would increase the risk of world war. “I want to believe that China will stand with the idea of peace and justice.”
Mr. Zelensky is more directly critical of Israel, a country whose Western allies have offered limited and silent support to Ukraine while trying to maintain good relations with Russia.
“I really want them to be not just a mediator, but pick a side,” he said. “Ukrainian side.”
Sliding effortlessly between Ukrainian and English, Mr. Zelensky has demonstrated his taste in engaging Western media and their audiences. He spent more than two hours answering questions, which are often a bit lengthy, acknowledging the uncertainty on some fronts but emphasizing, “I believe we are going to have this victory and hopefully it will. will happen this year.”
He opened the press conference by thanking the media and acknowledging the journalists, foreign and domestic, who died while covering the war.
“The fact that the whole world has not forgotten Ukraine, this allows us to maintain the strength to become invincible,” he said. Then he stood in silence for a minute.
Marc Santora reports from Kiev, Ukraine, and Richard Pérez-Peña from New York. Report contributed by Farnaz Fassihi And Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura from New York, Michael D. Cut from Washington, Monika Proncczuk from Brussels, and Cassandra Vinograd, Matt Surman And Euan ward from London.
