It has been exactly since Russia launched its of Ukraine, attacking the country from multiple directions. On Feb. 24, 2022, announced a 鈥渟pecial operation,” a campaign that many expected to be brief and to end with Kyiv’s capitulation.
Instead, European officials are traveling to the Ukrainian capital on Tuesday to show their support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his country’s people, who are fighting on.
While Putin did not get the quick and overwhelming victory he had hoped for, . And as Europe鈥檚 biggest conflict enters its fifth year, there is no sign of any peace deal despite U.S. diplomatic efforts over the past year.
Here鈥檚 the latest:
Latvia says more pressure on Russia 鈥榠s needed鈥�
Latvia鈥檚 Foreign Minister Baiba Bra啪e called on Tuesday for more international pressure to stop 鈥渢he butcher in the Kremlin鈥� and bring peace to Ukraine
Bra啪e said there is no indication Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to stop the war and there would be no immediate peace without additional sanctions or restrictions on the Russian economy and efforts to degrade Moscow鈥檚 military capability.
鈥淪o, peace efforts, great. U.S. leadership, great. But then, also, pressure is needed,鈥� she said after addressing the U.N. General Assembly.
Bra啪e stressed: 鈥淲ithout China, Russia would have lost the war already.鈥�
She said Latvia has told China that its dual-use supplies including chips, machinery and items for missile production are 鈥渨hat has enabled the war.鈥�
UN calls for immediate ceasefire in Ukraine
The U.N. General Assembly called Tuesday for an immediate, full and unconditional ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine on the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion, after rejecting a U.S. attempt to eliminate references to Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
U.S. Deputy Ambassador Tammy Bruce said the Trump administration supports an immediate ceasefire but language on Ukraine鈥檚 sovereignty and territorial integrity would 鈥渄istract鈥� from ongoing peace negotiations.
After rejecting the U.S. effort to drop that language, the 193-member assembly approved the original Ukraine-drafted resolution by a vote of 107-12 with 51 abstentions. The United States abstained on the vote.
The resolution welcomes efforts by the United States, European countries and others aimed at ending the war. It expresses 鈥済rave concern鈥� at intensified Russian miliary action against civilians and infrastructure, especially critical energy infrastructure.
General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding but they are an important reflection of global opinion.
Italy expresses its solidarity with Ukraine
The government of Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni praised the Ukrainian people鈥檚 鈥渟truggle to defend their freedom and independence,” and said Rome stands ready to support U.S.-led peace talks.
In a statement, the government also condemned what it described as Russia鈥檚 鈥渦njustified and brutal aggression.鈥�
It said resolving the conflict is essential to the security of Europe and of Italy.
Putin meets with officers of counterintelligence agency
Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with officials of Russia鈥檚 top counterintelligence agency on Tuesday without mentioning the anniversary.
Putin told the officials of Federal Security Service, or FSB, that the threat of attacks against Russia had increased, including those carried out by Ukraine鈥檚 special forces. He said greater protection would be needed for energy and transport infrastructure, as well as for leading defense industry officials.
He also said that Russia鈥檚 adversaries were attempting to derail peace negotiations with Ukraine.
鈥淭hey want to attack, They can鈥檛 live without it,鈥� Putin said during his speech. 鈥淭hey absolutely must have the defeat of Russia. They are looking for any way.鈥� He also held a minute鈥檚 silence in honor of FSB officers killed in service.
Western allies vow commitment to a lasting peace
Ukraine鈥檚 Western allies offered Ukraine their 鈥渇ull and sustained support鈥� on the four-year anniversary since the start of Russia鈥檚 full-scale invasion, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a joint statement.
Over 30 leaders of the so-called Coalition of the Willing held talks Tuesday via videoconference and in-person in Kyiv with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the statement said. The group co-chaired by France and the U.K. is aimed at providing Ukraine with security guarantees once a peace deal is achieved.
They 鈥渞eiterated their unwavering commitment to working together to achieve a just and lasting peace,鈥� it said.
Leaders 鈥渦rged Russia to engage in the discussions in a meaningful way, and to agree to a full, unconditional ceasefire.鈥� They reaffirmed their commitment to ramp up economic pressure on Russia including through additional sanctions, the statement said.
South Africans who fought for Russia to return home
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa y that a group of 11 South African men allegedly fight alongside Russian soldiers in the war against Ukraine are expected to return home soon.
South Africa鈥檚 government said in December that it had received distress calls from the men who were trapped in Ukraine鈥檚 war-torn eastern Donbas region. The men had joined mercenary forces under the pretext of lucrative employment contracts, the government said.
Their travel to Russia appears consistent with other who have been recruited to fight in the war against Ukraine, including over 1,000 from Kenya, according to an intelligence report presented to the Kenyan parliament last week. Four other South Africans returned home last week.
Independent media count the Russian war dead
At least 200,000 Russian troops have died during Russia鈥檚 four-year invasion of Ukraine, independent media outlets reported Tuesday.
Russian news outlet Mediazona, together with the BBC and a team of volunteers, has collected the names of 200,186 troops killed in the war by scouring news reports, social media and government websites.
Neither Moscow nor Kyiv gives timely data on military losses, and each is at pains to amplify the other side鈥檚 casualties. Russia has publicly acknowledged the deaths of just over 6,000 soldiers.
Europe’s parliament hails Zelenskyy
European lawmakers cheered Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy who met with them on a videoconference during an extraordinary session of the European Parliament commemorating the anniversary of the war’s start.
Lawmakers from Portugal to Finland praised Ukraine and blasted Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orb谩n, whose last minute objection sank new efforts to help Ukraine and raise the costs on Russia for prosecuting the war.
鈥淗e has become Putin’s cheap servant 鈥� Viktor Orb谩n 鈥� in the last years, and also today has not only betrayed Ukraine, he has betrayed all of us. He has betrayed Europe,鈥� said German member of parliament Terry Reintke.
While a few criticized Ukraine, an overwhelming majority of lawmakers lauded Ukrainian resolve, wore blue and yellow flower pins, blasted Putin and pledged continued support for the war-ravaged nation many see as a future EU member.
British says Russia is suffering terrible costs and is not winning
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has paid tribute to the resilience of Ukrainians as he told his Cabinet that Kyiv鈥檚 allies 鈥渕ust defeat the falsehood that Russia is winning.鈥�
鈥淲hen this conflict broke out four years ago, it was assumed it would be a matter of weeks before Putin took the whole of Ukraine. That鈥檚 what everybody believed,” Starmer said.
鈥淔our years later, the Ukrainians are holding out against that aggression, holding out on the front line where the circumstances are extremely challenging, but also holding out in civilian life where every day Ukrainians get up and go to work as a sign of resilience and defiance.
Starmer said that over the last year alone, 鈥淩ussia took 0.8% of land in Ukraine at a terrible cost to themselves, half a million losses.鈥�
Kremlin says Russia will keep fighting
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia has not achieved all of its goals in its war on Ukraine, but that Russia鈥檚 operation would continue and that Russian interests would be secured.
When asked how Russia had changed over the last four years, Peskov said that Russian society had rallied around Putin. He also said that Russian society had matured in 鈥渦nderstanding our roots鈥� and 鈥渦nderstanding what is good and what is bad in international affairs around the world.鈥�
He said the past four years have been very important in Russia’s history and that the country will move forward.
European officials visit Kyiv in a show of solidarity
More than a dozen senior European officials arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday in a show of support. But they also came they had hoped to present to Kyiv 鈥� a new package of sanctions on Russia and a 90 billion euro loan to fund Ukraine’s defense for the next two years.
Hungary, seen as most pro-Russian country in the European Union, blocked them both. It’s a sign of how difficult it has been sometimes to maintain solidarity as the war drags on.
鈥榃e have defended our independence鈥�
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country has withstood the onslaught by Russia鈥檚 bigger and better equipped army, which over the past year of fighting , according to the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank.
鈥淟ooking back at the beginning of the invasion and reflecting on today, we have every right to say: we have defended our independence, we have not lost our statehood; Putin has not achieved his goals,鈥� Zelenskyy said on social media.
鈥淗e has not broken Ukrainians; he has not won this war,鈥� Zelenskyy said.
France’s Macron says the war exposes the ‘fragility’ of imperialism
French President Emmanuel Macron said in a post on the social platform X that 鈥渢his war is a triple failure for Russia: military, economic, and strategic.鈥�
鈥淚t has strengthened NATO 鈥� the very expansion Russia sought to prevent 鈥� galvanized Europeans it hoped to weaken, and laid bare the fragility of an imperialism from another age,” Macron said.
Macron also urged the EU to issue the 90 billion euro ($106 billion) loan to Ukraine, a plan that requires the unanimity of the 27 member states.
鈥淭here is no justification for calling this into question. We must now deliver on it,鈥� he wrote.
Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer were to join a meeting of Western leaders supporting Ukraine, the so-called Coalition of the Willing, via videoconference on Tuesday.
A 鈥榬evolution鈥� in warfare
Britain鈥檚 Armed Forces Minister Al Carns says the war has been 鈥渢he most defining conflict鈥� in decades due to the way it has revolutionized warfare and upended Europe鈥檚 security.
鈥淚 would never have guessed in my lifetime I would see North Korean troops fighting on the border of Europe,鈥� Carns told reporters on Monday. 鈥淲hich I think is a significant warning signal to all of us.鈥�
Carns said the conflict had brought a 鈥渞evolution in military affairs,鈥� especially through the rapid development of drone technology. Drones now account for the vast majority of battlefield casualties in the war.
Western officials say that in the last three months, Russia has lost more casualties than the number of troops it recruits, a potential tipping point.
鈥淭he cost on Russia has been almost unimaginable,鈥� Carns said, calling a Western estimate of 1.25 million Russian personnel killed and wounded since 2022 likely an underestimate.
European allies see Ukraine’s defense as a larger fight for freedom
European leaders visiting Kyiv hailed the Ukrainian struggle.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the Ukrainians are 鈥渟tanding up for the freedom of us all. Their courage and strength shine in the fight against Putin鈥檚 darkness. And they give hope to those of us who want a Europe at peace.鈥�
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, said: 鈥淲e don鈥檛 yet know when the war will end, but how it ends will affect Sweden鈥檚 security for at least a generation to come. And that鈥檚 why our continued support is so crucial.鈥�
Poland鈥檚 Foreign Minister Rados艂aw Sikorski vowed from Kyiv that his country would remain 鈥渟teadfast in its support for the Ukrainian people and in its pursuit of a just and lasting peace.鈥�
鈥淎 victory parade was supposed to take place here after a few days,鈥� Sikorski said in an address from Kyiv referring to Russia鈥檚 initial plans of a quick takeover of Ukraine. 鈥淚nstead, four years later, Kyiv is still defending itself.鈥�
NATO vows its support to ensure a lasting peace
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Ukraine鈥檚 allies will continue to militarily support the war-ravaged nation to end the war and ensure a lasting peace.
鈥淯kraine needs ammunition today and every day, until the bloodshed stops. Ukraine continues to blunt Russia鈥檚 aggression, and despite Putin鈥檚 posturing, Russia has failed to meet their ambitions on the battlefield,鈥� he said during a ceremony at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
鈥淭here cannot be true peace in Europe without real peace in Ukraine. When the fighting eventually stops, the peace has to hold with strong Ukrainian forces ready to deter and defend and effective security guarantees from Ukraine鈥檚 partners: Europe, Canada, and the United States.鈥�
China says it hopes for peace in Ukraine
A Chinese government spokesperson noted that the door to dialogue had recently opened in what she called the Ukraine crisis, avoiding describing the conflict as a war.
鈥淲e hope all parties will seize the opportunity to reach a comprehensive, lasting and binding peace agreement,鈥� Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said when asked about the fourth anniversary of the outbreak of the war.
China has been accused of not doing enough to pressure Russia to end the fighting. It has maintained ties and trade with Russia, relieving some of the pressure of economic sanctions. China says its position is impartial and objective.
鈥淐hina never fans the flames or seeks to profit from the situation, and of course we do not accept any attempts to shift blame onto China,鈥� Mao said.
UN estimates the cost of Ukraine’s recovery
Matthias Schmale, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine, noted that the costs for the country鈥檚 recovery from the war are now estimated at $590 billion over a decade 鈥� three times Ukraine鈥檚 GDP last year.
Schmale said by video link to a U.N. briefing in Geneva on Tuesday that over 10.8 million people, roughly a quarter of Ukraine鈥檚 population, remain in need of humanitarian assistance 鈥� including up to 1 million in Russian-occupied territory.
He also noted that Ukraine is one of the world鈥檚 most-mined countries, with almost a quarter of its territory 鈥減otentially contaminated.鈥�
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