The previous press secretary to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed on Saturday that they may “never give up” to Russian President Vladimir Putin, because the one-year anniversary of the war approaches subsequent week.
“Hundreds and 1000’s of our persons are combating, and lots of of them simply turned troopers a yr in the past, however they’re decided,” Iuliia Mendel, who served as Zelensky’s press secretary from 2019 to 2021, informed MSNBC. “They know that they will win. They know they need to defend Ukrainian civilians, the sky, no matter they will defend.”
The Russian forces, however, aren’t as decided or motivated, Mendel mentioned.
“What are they for right here? Simply to kill, to loot, to die?” she added. “So, undoubtedly, we’ll stand till the very finish.”
Nevertheless, Mendel acknowledged that assist from the U.S. and others within the West is waning, as fatigue settles in. Within the U.S., Home Republicans have additionally beforehand indicated that they hope to rein in help — some even calling additional aide a “clean test” from the Biden administration.
“If there is no such thing as a unity within the civilized world, within the West, in the USA, then there’s at all times a threat that we will be unable to stand towards this unpredictable and aggressive autocracy alone,” she mentioned.
Because the one-year mark of Russia’s invasion approaches on Feb. 24, Putin has doubled down on his war effort, launching his long-anticipated counter-offensive in japanese Ukraine. The Kremlin is sending in tens of 1000’s of new troops and renewing its widespread bombing of its neighbor, because it tries to reclaim territory that it misplaced final yr.
Nevertheless, Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin mentioned on Thursday that Russia is incurring heavy losses given its “ill-equipped and ill-trained” troops. U.Ok. intelligence estimated on Friday that Russia has lost up to 60,000 soldiers within the war.
