When Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine in February 2022, the prospect of Ukraine prevailing over a much larger Russia seemed to many to be remote. But roughly two years into the war, Ukraine, buttressed by potent Western military aid, has gradually pushed back Russian forces. However, the prolonged fighting has weighed on the countries aiding Ukraine while Ukrainians have become increasingly weary of the all-consuming war.
Against the backdrop of these developments, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sat with Kyodo News and other Asian media outlets at his presidential office in the capital Kyiv in late November.
"There was no help at first."
"We had a very difficult situation almost two years ago," Zelenskyy said as he looked back at the initial phase of the war, during which Russia came to seize far more territory than Crimea, which it unilaterally annexed in 2014.
"And then people stood up, the military stood up, everyone took up arms, went out into the streets, blocked roads, blocked all the ways to their homes. And it was a powerful defense," Zelenskyy added.
"Everyone was fighting because there was no help at first...And without any help, it was impossible to start any operations or counteroffensive actions." He stressed it was ordinary people who stopped the Russians from overrunning the country.
Breakthrough in Kharkiv and Kherson
After being on the defensive, the Ukrainian military gained the capability to mount an offensive in the summer of 2022, largely thanks to an infusion of powerful weapons from the United States and European countries.
A Ukrainian soldier stands near a damaged Russian tank in Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine on Oct. 4, 2022. (AP/Kyodo)
A Ukrainian soldier stands near a damaged Russian tank in Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine on Oct. 4, 2022. (AP/Kyodo)
Ukrainian soldiers take a selfie with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (C) during his visit to Kherson, Ukraine, on Nov. 14, 2022. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office/AP/Kyodo)
Ukrainian soldiers take a selfie with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (C) during his visit to Kherson, Ukraine, on Nov. 14, 2022. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office/AP/Kyodo)
Zelenskyy's forces took back most of the Kharkiv region in eastern Ukraine in September that year and liberated Kherson in the south two months later. The president said the two successes marked a "breakthrough."
September 2022
Ukraine recaptures greater Kharkiv region
November 2022
Ukraine liberates Kherson
June 2023
Ukrainian counteroffensive starts
Dec. 4, 2023
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Time not on Ukrainian side
But the Ukrainian pushback could not be sustained. Weapons were depleted, and soldiers, as well as ordinary Ukrainians, became exhausted. Zelenskyy needed to give his troops some respite and build up stockpiles of weapons and equipment. What he did not anticipate, however, was a significant delay in the arrival of weapons from Western countries.
Ukrainian counteroffensive operations started in June 2023. Had they started during the previous winter, he said, "it would have been much easier because the big defensive lines would not have been built by Russia...it would have been easier, but it is what it is." Zelenskyy added, "Time played tricks on us and was not on our side in this situation. It is very difficult to recapture the territory that is fortified."
Ill-equipped troops and Russian air superiority
The much-delayed Ukrainian counteroffensive came at a huge cost. Scores of soldiers were killed by landmines laid by Russia prior to the operations. Even as Ukrainian troops advanced cautiously, they met fierce attacks from the air.
The counteroffensive was complicated by "the fact that the forces were still not fully equipped with the brigades with the weapons we needed, and the total dominance of Russia in the sky," Zelenskyy said. "There is simply not enough air defense equipment. Without this, it is very difficult."
Ukraine has an ace in the hole: American-made F-16 fighter jets. But their use in actual combat is unlikely to come until the spring of 2024 or later.
No one tells Ukraine how it should end war
With no end in sight to the war, there is growing skepticism within Western countries about their continued support for Ukraine. Some people call for Kyiv to start cease-fire talks. Zelenskyy categorically rejects such calls.
"The war is here, on this territory. Why should someone tell us how to end this war?" Zelenskyy said. "I don't see any concrete proposals that anyone is offering, other than 'Please rip off your hands and give them to another person.'"
"We will not give up our territories to Russia," he added. "Without withdrawal of (Russian) troops, it makes no sense to offer us a cease-fire."
About Russian President Vladimir Putin, Zelenskyy paints an unflattering picture of a man unconstrained by convention or rules. "He is voracious and he is constantly hungry, this man from the Russian Federation. This person cannot calm down," the Ukrainian leader said, asserting that Putin's goal is to reestablish the former Soviet Union's sphere of influence, and that if Ukraine falls, "there will be other states next -- 100 percent."
Forgotten Ukraine
In a recent public opinion survey, Ukrainians' trust in Zelenskyy stood at 76 percent, down from 91 percent in May 2022. In contrast, their trust in the military has stayed at a relatively high 94 percent.
Unity within Ukrainian society has come under strain, as indicated by reports about disagreements between the country's military and political leadership. The breakout of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023 has added to Zelenskyy's woes.
People have turned their attention to the Middle East and "forgotten about Ukraine," Zelenskyy said. "I believe that this is exactly what the Russian Federation was trying to achieve, and I am sorry to say that they have achieved the result they wanted."
"Indescribable responsibility"
Zelenskyy's wife Olena Zelenska also sat for an interview the day before his.
She said her husband bears an "indescribable responsibility" as the leader of a country at war, with his duties only allowing him time to meet with their young daughter and son once or twice a week.
"He is here all the time," she said, referring to the presidential office he occupies.
War no more
Zelenskyy is not seeking a pause in combat but a complete end to an unprovoked, unjust war of invasion.
"I wouldn't want our children and grandchildren to live and grow up with the idea that there will come a time when someone will turn on 'Play' again. I would not want this war to start again," the president said. But he and the people of Ukraine have this war to fight, and win, first to reclaim a peaceful life.
"It is very difficult for us because we are fighting Russia on our land," Zelenskyy said. But "we cannot afford for the world to doubt our actions, for the world to doubt the strength of the Ukrainian people."
Content director : Kotaro Nakagawa
Line producer : Yuki Murayama
Text : Kenichi Iinuma
Photo : Yuko Nemoto, Kota Endo, Takaki Yajima, Takuto Kaneko
Text editors : Genichiro Kodama, Miya Tanaka
Photo Editor : Takuro Yabe
Video Editor : Makoto Nishimura
Translation：Daisuke Yamamoto, Kantaro Saki
Production Support : Kevin Chow, Atsushi Yokota, Janice Tang, Motoki Akamine
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