Ukraine’s leader has used a news conference on the anniversary of Russia’s invasion to urge Moscow to change course, saying, “Please respect our right to live on our land. Leave our territory. Stop bombing us.”
Breaking with his office’s usual wartime security protocols, Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s news conference was broadcast live on Friday, February 24, 2023.
Zelenskyy got emotional when talking about how the war could end, arguing that only if Russia halts its aggression can a diplomatic path be followed.
“Stop (destroying) all our infrastructure, energy, drinking water. Stop bombing towns, villages, killing dogs and cats, simply animals, torching forests,” Zelenskyy said.
People Across The World Mark Anniversary Of Russia’s Invasion
People across the globe threw their support behind Ukraine on Friday, February 24, 2023, the anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
World landmarks were lit up in the colors of Ukraine’s national flag. The Empire State Building, the Eiffel Tower and Sydney Opera House gleamed in yellow and blue in solemn remembrance of the outbreak of the war on Feb. 24, 2022.
The conflict has affected economies worldwide, bringing shortages of energy, grain and fertilizer, and the date drew people to peace rallies and other events in the Middle East, Asia and Latin America, as well as Europe.
A rusting T-72 tank was placed outside the prominent Russian Embassy building on the German capital’s Unter den Linden boulevard.
The tank was struck in the Kyiv region in the early stages of the war. It was taken to Berlin by a private group, which said that the Ukrainian defense ministry’s Military History Museum loaned it.
“The whole world should see that there are many people in Germany who stand behind Ukraine, so that’s why we’re putting the Russians’ scrap tank in front of their door,” said Wieland Giebel of the Berlin Story group, who was one of the exhibit’s organizers.
U.K. Prime Minister Observes A Minute’s Silence For The Lost Lives
U.K. Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak stepped outside his office at No. 10 Downing Street, joining Ukraine’s Ambassador and some Ukrainian soldiers being trained in the United Kingdom for a minute’s silence in commemoration of those killed in the fighting.
King Charles III published a message lauding the “remarkable courage and resilience” of the Ukrainian people.
A teenage Ukrainian pianist forced to flee her country with her mother when the war broke out gave a solo performance at a shopping mall in the city of Liverpool in northwest England.
At a convention center in Utrecht, Netherlands, about 2,000 Ukrainian refugees gathered to hear by video link a speech by Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, and in Brussels hundreds gathered to wave the Ukrainian flag and chant “Slava Ukraini!” (Glory to Ukraine).
In northern Europe, people placed candles on the steps of Helsinki Cathedral at a memorial event for Ukraine war victims, and in southern Europe, peace quotations printed on jute bags were displayed in Rome as part of an installation by Italian artist, Gianfranco Meggiato.
Ukrainians in Lebanon chanted slogans during a Beirut rally and held up signs saying, “Stand strong with Ukraine” and “No terrorism.”
Dozens of South Koreans and Ukrainian expatriates gathered outside the Russian Embassy in Seoul. They held candles and banners demanding the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory.
About 1,000 people protested in Tokyo’s Hibiya Park, holding banners that said: “Russia, stop invading Ukraine.”
Outside the city’s United Nations’ University, demonstrators held a candlelight vigil, and at Zenkoji temple in Nagano in central Japan, about 30 monks prayed for the lives lost in the war.
People placed flowers outside the Ukrainian consulate in Bali, Indonesia in tribute to those killed in the war.
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