'Leave our territory': Zelenskyy defiant as he rejects calls for early peace talks
Ukrainian leader made pointed comment about the slow pace of weapons deliveries
On the first anniversary of Russia's full-on invasion of his country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed to push for victory in 2023 as he tried to rally an increasingly exhausted but defiant nation.
His address to the armed forces and the nation on Friday noted that Russian leaders believed his country would fall within days of Moscow's advance.
"They threatened that in 72 hours, we would not exist," Zelenskyy said — without mentioning that some of Ukraine's allies made the same assessment at the time.
"But we survived the fourth day. And then the fifth. And today, we have been standing for exactly one year. And we still know — every tomorrow is worth fighting for."
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Later, at a marathon news conference with the international media, Zelenskyy said a timeline for ending the war is achievable as long as "partners do their jobs too" — a reference to the slow pace of allies' delivery of advanced weapons, including heavy battle tanks.
On Friday, Canada announced it would be sending four additional Leopard 2 tanks, bringing the country's total contribution of heavy armour to eight tanks.
Zelenskyy was pressed several times during the three-hour exchange with journalists to explain the conditions under which Ukraine would talk to Russia about ending the war.
He was blunt, stating that there will be no negotiations with Russia until it has pulled its troops from Ukraine's territory and stopped its air bombardment.
"Everyone has seen that they killed and tortured people. They are not even trying to hide their attacks, they are talking about nuclear matters," he said. "Seeing this picture of the world, do you think Ukrainians can sit in this and negotiate?"
His message to Moscow was equally defiant.
"Our right to live in our land needs to be respected. Leave our territory and withdraw and stop killing civilians and stop air strikes, stop killing dogs, cats and animals," Zelenskyy said. "Only after that we will tell you what form diplomacy might take."
Zelenskyy reacted cautiously to China's peace proposal, suggesting what he's seen publicly looks more like a statement than a basis for discussions.
"China spoke its mind. China has started to talk about Ukraine and that's a good thing," he said, adding he questions what actions might follow China's intervention.
U.S. intelligence officials have suggested that Washington has seen signs China is providing non-lethal assistance and is preparing to provide Moscow with lethal aid — possibly including drones and artillery ammunition.
Senior Ukrainian security officials have said they also have heard that Russia may acquire materiel — specifically 122 millimetre Soviet-style rounds — to fill up their depleted stocks, but have seen no evidence that a transfer has taken place.
It's not surprising that Moscow is trying to replenish its stockpile, given how much ammunition it has used, said the officials who spoke on background to CBC News. According to Ukrainian government estimates, Russian artillery units have been firing as many as 5,000 rounds per day and have fired seven million tonnes of munitions over the past year.
In his address, Zelenskyy invoked memories of the shared sacrifices made by families during the Second World War. Ukrainian grandfathers used to talk about how they beat the Nazis, he said, and today their grandchildren are telling their grandfathers how they are beating the Russians.
"In fact, every Ukrainian has lost someone in the past year," said Zelenskyy. "A father, a son, a brother, a mother, a daughter, a sister. A loved one. A close friend, colleague, neighbour, acquaintance."
'We will never forget them'
Almost everyone, he said, has a contact in their phone belonging to a person who will never pick up again.
"We will not erase their names from the phone or from our own memory. We will never forget them," Zelenskyy said. "We will never forgive that. We will never rest until the Russian murderers face deserved punishment."
At a solemn, low-key ceremony in Kyiv at the ornate St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery, the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Primate Epiphanius I, handed out awards to ordinary soldiers who fought to defend the capital year. The citations were for "for sacrifice and love for Ukraine."
In the square outside the monastery, families with small children mingled amid the twisted wrecks of Russian tanks and other military vehicles — a morale-boosting exercise sanctioned by the Ukrainian government.
Among them was Kateryna Didenko, a soloist with the Grand Kyiv Ballet. She fled the country with her son at the onset of the invasion, leaving her husband behind. She returned after several months in Germany.
It was simply too hard to stay away, said Didenko.
"So that's why we decided to come back," she said, noting the victories of the Ukrainian army and the flood of western weapons convinced her "that we can come back home and stay here because now it is more or less safe."
Her eyes welled with tears at the thought that the full-scale war has been going on for a year now.
"Oh, gosh. I didn't think it would take so long," Didenko said. "I thought the war would be one or two months. And now it's one year. We had a beautiful life [before the invasion] and then I had to run away."
If there is a consolation, she said, it is that Ukraine has shown the world that it's strong and that its people "really want to live in our country in freedom."
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