Ukraine will “never be conquered by the occupiers, because we are the land of the brave,” Zelenskyy said in a video released on Saturday showing him visiting the symbolic Snake Island in the Black Sea. The US pledged further support to Kiev.
The undated video, published online on Saturday, shows Zelenskyy arriving by boat on Snake Island in the Black Sea and laying flowers at a memorial site. “From here, from this place of victory, I would like to thank each of our soldiers for these 500 days,” said the Ukrainian president, referring to the duration of the Russian war of aggression.
Snake Island has been a symbol of the Ukrainian resistance since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022. On the first day of the invasion, the crew of the later sunk Russian warship “Moskva” had asked the Ukrainian border guards stationed on the island to surrender.
“F…k you, Russian warship!” A border guard responded in a radio message that made headlines around the world. A short time later, the Russian forces took the island. The Ukrainian soldiers were captured and later released in a prisoner exchange. At the end of June last year, the Ukrainian armed forces recaptured the island.
The US pledged its continued support to Ukraine 500 days after the Russian war of aggression began and threatened Russia. “As the Kremlin seeks to subdue Ukraine, take away its lands and overthrow its democratically elected government, the spirit of the Ukrainian people remains unbroken and the United States remains committed to helping Ukraine defend itself and regain its future build up,” said Foreign Minister Antony Blinken on Saturday.
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The United States and its allies and partners would stand by Ukraine for as long as necessary – also so that the country could take the strongest possible position at the negotiating table “in due course”. Blinken also sent a clear message to Moscow: the USA wanted to continue to impose high costs on the Russian leadership through sanctions, export controls and other measures that impaired the conduct of the war. In addition, they will continue to work to ensure that violations of international law are punished. The Russian government remains the only obstacle to a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, Blinken said.
The Vienna Ministry of Foreign Affairs once again assured Ukraine of its full solidarity on the 500th day of the Russian war of aggression – “for as long as necessary,” it said in a tweet on Saturday: “500 days ago, Russia began its brutal war of aggression against Ukraine. 500 days of senseless struggle. 500 days of death, despair and destruction”.
Russia invaded the neighboring country on February 24, 2022. The United States is considered Ukraine’s most important ally in its defensive struggle. According to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU), more than 9,000 civilians have been killed since the war began, including 500 children. The war continues to take a “terrible toll” on the Ukrainian people, HRMMU Vice President Noel Calhoun said.
