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Kyiv: President Volodymyr Zelensky Ukraine praised the “courage” on the 500th day of Russian invasion On Saturday, the war death toll rose with eight reported deaths in a Russian missile strike.
Zelensky posted on social media an undated video of a visit to Snake Island in the Black Sea – a symbol of Ukraine’s defiance of Russia.
“Today we are on Snake Island, which the invaders will not invade, like all of Ukraine, because we are a country of the brave,” he said.
“I want to thank from here, from this place of victory, each of our soldiers for these 500 days,” he said in the video, which showed him arriving on the island by boat and leaving flowers.
The United Nations has documented 9,000 civilian deaths since the start of the war on February 24, 2022, including 500 children, although it estimates that the real number may be much higher.
That toll rose again on Saturday, when Ukraine’s interior ministry said eight were killed and 13 wounded in a Russian missile strike in the eastern town of Liman.
Russian news agencies reported that two civilians were killed in Ukrainian shelling on the Russian-controlled town of Oleshki in the south.
Noel Calhoun, deputy head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, said the 500th day of conflict marked “another egregious milestone in a war that continues to take a horrific toll on civilians in Ukraine”.
Zelensky completed a visit to Turkey on Saturday, securing support for his country’s NATO aspirations after winning a US pledge on cluster munitions that can inflict significant damage on Russian forces on the battlefield.
Upon his return to Ukraine, Zelensky also brought back five Ukrainian leaders who were supposed to remain in Turkey until the end of the conflict under the prisoner exchange deal.
Russia denounced the men’s release, and members of Ukraine’s Azov Battalion celebrated their staunch resistance at the Azovstal plant during a months-long siege of the port city of Mariupol.
Russian news agencies quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that “the return of the Azov leaders from Turkey to Ukraine is nothing but a direct violation of the terms of the existing agreements.”
He said that Ukraine and Turkey had violated the terms of the agreement and claimed that their return was linked to the “failure of the counterattack” by Ukraine.
Washington’s decision to supply cluster bombs to Ukraine – banned in much of the world – dramatically raises the stakes in the war.
US President Joe Biden admitted that providing Ukraine with weapons capable of covering several football fields with hundreds of multiple small explosives was a “difficult decision”.
Humanitarian organizations have strongly condemned the decision to supply cluster munitions, which can continue without detonation and may endanger civilians for years to come.
Russia, which uses cluster munitions in Ukraine, also criticized the decision, saying it was an “act of desperation” that would have no “impact” on the conflict.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Ukraine’s assurances that it would use the munitions responsibly “do not amount to anything”.
Various international efforts to mediate the conflict have so far failed.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has tried to portray himself as a neutral mediator, dramatically boosting wartime trade with Russia while supplying drones and other weapons to Ukraine.
But as he reaffirmed his longstanding call for both sides to enter peace talks, Erdogan risked irritating Russia by offering unequivocal support for Ukraine’s NATO aspirations.
“There is no doubt that Ukraine deserves NATO membership,” Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul.
Erdogan also said he would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin next month in what would be the Kremlin chief’s first visit to Turkey since the invasion.
Asked about a possible meeting with Erdogan, Kremlin spokesman Peskov was quoted as saying on Saturday, “Contact is possible. There are no exact dates yet.”
Meanwhile, Zelensky vowed to be defiant in a video of him visiting Snake Island, which was captured by Russian forces shortly after the invasion began.
A radio exchange went viral in which Ukrainian soldiers told the crew of the attacking Russian warship to surrender to “fuck yourself”.
Ukrainian soldiers were captured but later exchanged for Russian prisoners.
The Russian cruise ship Moskva sank in the Black Sea in April 2022 after what Moscow said was an explosion on board.
Ukraine said it had hit the warship with missiles.
Ukrainian forces retook the island in June last year.
Zelensky posted on social media an undated video of a visit to Snake Island in the Black Sea – a symbol of Ukraine’s defiance of Russia.
“Today we are on Snake Island, which the invaders will not invade, like all of Ukraine, because we are a country of the brave,” he said.
“I want to thank from here, from this place of victory, each of our soldiers for these 500 days,” he said in the video, which showed him arriving on the island by boat and leaving flowers.
The United Nations has documented 9,000 civilian deaths since the start of the war on February 24, 2022, including 500 children, although it estimates that the real number may be much higher.
That toll rose again on Saturday, when Ukraine’s interior ministry said eight were killed and 13 wounded in a Russian missile strike in the eastern town of Liman.
Russian news agencies reported that two civilians were killed in Ukrainian shelling on the Russian-controlled town of Oleshki in the south.
Noel Calhoun, deputy head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, said the 500th day of conflict marked “another egregious milestone in a war that continues to take a horrific toll on civilians in Ukraine”.
Zelensky completed a visit to Turkey on Saturday, securing support for his country’s NATO aspirations after winning a US pledge on cluster munitions that can inflict significant damage on Russian forces on the battlefield.
Upon his return to Ukraine, Zelensky also brought back five Ukrainian leaders who were supposed to remain in Turkey until the end of the conflict under the prisoner exchange deal.
Russia denounced the men’s release, and members of Ukraine’s Azov Battalion celebrated their staunch resistance at the Azovstal plant during a months-long siege of the port city of Mariupol.
Russian news agencies quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that “the return of the Azov leaders from Turkey to Ukraine is nothing but a direct violation of the terms of the existing agreements.”
He said that Ukraine and Turkey had violated the terms of the agreement and claimed that their return was linked to the “failure of the counterattack” by Ukraine.
Washington’s decision to supply cluster bombs to Ukraine – banned in much of the world – dramatically raises the stakes in the war.
US President Joe Biden admitted that providing Ukraine with weapons capable of covering several football fields with hundreds of multiple small explosives was a “difficult decision”.
Humanitarian organizations have strongly condemned the decision to supply cluster munitions, which can continue without detonation and may endanger civilians for years to come.
Russia, which uses cluster munitions in Ukraine, also criticized the decision, saying it was an “act of desperation” that would have no “impact” on the conflict.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Ukraine’s assurances that it would use the munitions responsibly “do not amount to anything”.
Various international efforts to mediate the conflict have so far failed.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has tried to portray himself as a neutral mediator, dramatically boosting wartime trade with Russia while supplying drones and other weapons to Ukraine.
But as he reaffirmed his longstanding call for both sides to enter peace talks, Erdogan risked irritating Russia by offering unequivocal support for Ukraine’s NATO aspirations.
“There is no doubt that Ukraine deserves NATO membership,” Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul.
Erdogan also said he would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin next month in what would be the Kremlin chief’s first visit to Turkey since the invasion.
Asked about a possible meeting with Erdogan, Kremlin spokesman Peskov was quoted as saying on Saturday, “Contact is possible. There are no exact dates yet.”
Meanwhile, Zelensky vowed to be defiant in a video of him visiting Snake Island, which was captured by Russian forces shortly after the invasion began.
A radio exchange went viral in which Ukrainian soldiers told the crew of the attacking Russian warship to surrender to “fuck yourself”.
Ukrainian soldiers were captured but later exchanged for Russian prisoners.
The Russian cruise ship Moskva sank in the Black Sea in April 2022 after what Moscow said was an explosion on board.
Ukraine said it had hit the warship with missiles.
Ukrainian forces retook the island in June last year.
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