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Millions of people across countries in Europe on Tuesday commemorated the fourth anniversary of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In Paris, the Eiffel Tower was illuminated in blue and yellow, the colors of the Ukrainian flag. Thousands, including Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, and Vadim Omelchenko, Ukraine’s ambassador to France, participated in the commemoration.
Ukraine’s ambassador to France, Vadim Omelchenko, said that the past four years had been a time of suffering and struggle but had also shown the perseverance and courage of the Ukrainian people.
In Warsaw, the Polish capital, many people stood up for Ukraine. Demonstrators waved Ukrainian flags and held up banners, some of which read, ‘Fight for freedom’ and ‘Putin always lies!’ Support Ukraine.”
In the Serbian capital Belgrade, anti-war activists gathered to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the start of the war in Ukraine. Police separated the activists from far-right groups that had gathered in the same area.
In London, thousands gathered in Trafalgar Square to support Ukraine. Holding Ukrainian flags and banners, people silently paid tribute to those who lost their lives in the war.
Russia began its large-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, In four years, hundreds of thousands of people have died, millions have been displaced, much of eastern Ukraine has been destroyed, and the country’s energy infrastructure severely battered.
Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy, said on Tuesday Ukraine has withstood the onslaught by Russia’s bigger and better equipped army, which over the past year of fighting captured just 0.79% of Ukraine’s territory, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank. Russia now holds nearly 20% of Ukraine.
When his counterpart, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, addressed a gathering of senior Federal Security Service (FSB) officials in Moscow on Tuesday, no mention of discussion of the anniversary or the state of the war was made.
The conflict is Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II. US-led peace talks have so far failed to produce any major results or an end to fighting.