The former Ukrainian president who was poisoned by the Russians in 2004 said Wednesday that Russia had already been defeated, but that Ukraine had not necessarily won the war. Viktor Yushchenko, who was the third president of Ukraine, made statements on the occasion of his country’s Independence Day and, ironically, the half-year anniversary of the current war with Russia.
Yushchenko said Ukraine had “already given heat” to Russia and its president Russian President Vladimir Putin. Yushchenko also said that his country showed the world that it is capable of fighting, and that it will not back down.
Yushchenko told the Ukrainian media “Pravda” that “the past three eventful days from Janka to all the airfields acquired by the Ukrainian revolutionaries, give a lot of hope.” “Everything says we’re in a situation where Putin has already lost, of course. But we haven’t won yet.”
Wednesday marks the six-month mark of Russia’s war of aggression. Russia began building forces along Ukraine’s northern and western borders in late January, and began attacking Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Since then, heavy losses have taken place on both sides. This includes Ukrainian civilians, foreign fighters, the Ukrainian military, and more than 45,000 Russians.
Russia failed to conquer Kyiv, Lviv and Odessa, but it occupied many areas in the eastern part of Ukraine. Russia occupied most of the Donbass Oblast, which includes Luhansk, Severodonetsk, Donetsk, and Mariupol. They occupied Crimea in 2014.
Russia also occupied the major southern cities of Kherson and Melitopol, and slowly made its way towards Odessa and the southwestern Transnistria region near the Moldova border.
Wednesday was also Ukraine’s Independence Day. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky It said Russian missiles hit Chaplin railway station in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Zelensky said at least 22 people were killed and about 50 injured in the blasts. Those numbers could rise as first responders continue to dig among the rubble.
Zelensky made his remarks during a meeting of the UN Security Council.
“Rescue workers are working. Unfortunately, the death toll may rise,” Zelensky said. “This is how we live every day. This is how Russia has prepared for this meeting of the United Nations Security Council.”
Zelensky continued to emphasize the destruction of Chaplina.
“Chaplina is our pain today. Up to this moment, 22 people have died, five of them were burned in the car, a teenager died, he was 11 years old, his house was destroyed by a Russian missile. Search and rescue operations at the railway station completed .. We will certainly make the occupiers respond to everything They did it.. and surely we will drive the invaders out of our land.”
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Yushchenko was running for president of Ukraine in 2004 against a pro-Russian candidate when he was poisoned by the Russians. Yushchenko continued to head the country from 2005 to 2010.
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