The war turned life upside down. It is impossible to tell, says Natalia Ravn-Christensen. – Many lives have been lost. Many have lost their homes. We don’t know how long it will last, says the deputy leader of the Ukrainian Association in Norway to news. Tuesday marks a thousand days since Russia began its large-scale military offensive against Ukraine. The attacks came from the east, south and north. This was eight years after Russia had annexed the Ukrainian Crimean peninsula and was behind a separatist uprising in the counties of Luhansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. A Ukrainian soldier fires a howitzer at Russian forces at Tjasiv Yar, near the front in eastern Ukraine. Photo: HANDOUT / AFP Today, Russia controls parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya. But they face stiff resistance from the Ukrainian army. The exact number of dead and injured is unknown. But Ukrainian authorities said this summer that 12,000 civilians had been killed. Last autumn, the Wall Street Journal calculated that around one million people, most of them Russian and Ukrainian soldiers, had been killed or injured. On the thousandth day after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the National Assembly in Kyiv. Photo: UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE / Reuters Worries about the third winter Ravn-Christensen has lived in Norway for a long time. In Oslo she sits and clings to the hope that something will lead to peace soon, without millions of Ukrainians having to submit to Russia. She shares the hope for peace with around 80,000 Ukrainian refugees in Norway. – My biggest hope is that a miracle happens, she says. If the miracle does not come, she hopes that Ukraine will receive enough arms support and an invitation to join NATO. – The only thing that can ensure safety is collective protection. The map shows the area that Russia controls on Ukrainian territory. Updated 19 November 2024. Photo: INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF WAR AND AEI’S CRITICAL THREATS PROJECT / The NRKKartet shows the area that Russia controls on Ukrainian territory. Updated 19 November 2024. Photo: INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF WAR AND AEI’S CRITICAL THREATS PROJECT / news Although they hope for peace, the reality is different, and the war affects their lives very much. Ravn-Christensen says that Ukrainians she has spoken to fear that the third winter will be the worst they have seen so far. She refers to the air attack from Russia last weekend, which hit the energy grid hard. She believes that if it had happened later in the winter, the consequences could have been far more serious. Ravn-Christensen praises the efforts made by her compatriots. – Everyone does what they can. People work as volunteers, they donate things. They try to mobilize in every way. Afraid that the support will disappear There is something else that worries them, says the deputy head. They are afraid that the West will give up Ukraine. – People are not confident that they will get help. They hope to support luck, but fear that they may have to fend for themselves, says Ravn-Christensen. People visit a monument to those killed in the war against Russia, in the center of Kyiv on Tuesday. Photo: ROMAN PILIPEY / AFP She is happy for the support that Norway provides, but believes that Ukraine needs more weapons to defend the country and fight back against Russia. Last week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke with Vladimir Putin. This was the first direct communication they had had in almost two years. Scholz thought it was important to do so in order to remove any illusions that the West’s support for Ukraine has weakened. But the election has not been popular. Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz (right) in a telephone conversation with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on 15 November. Photo: Steffen Kugler / Reuters Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj believed that Scholz broke with Western solidarity to achieve political advantages at home, according to Reuters. Ravn-Christensen agrees with Zelenskyj on this, and feels disappointed. She is also worried about what it will be like when Donald Trump takes over power in the United States after the New Year. Trump has repeatedly criticized the Biden administration for providing large military and economic aid to Ukraine, and has hinted that he will reduce or end the support. So far, the concern is not a reality. Ukraine still receives support from large parts of the West. Before leaving for the G20 summit in Brazil, Scholz promised Ukraine would receive 4,000 new AI-controlled drones. Long-range missiles of the Taurus type, which the Ukrainians have also asked for, he said that it was not appropriate to send them. Nevertheless, he was clear about one thing: – Ukraine can count on us. Published 19.11.2024, at 16.55 Updated 19.11.2024, at 16.56
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1000 days since the Ukraine war – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
