Defend Truth

Opinionista

After 365 terrible days of war, Ukraine has proved it cannot be broken and defeated

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Liubov Abravitova is the Ambassador of Ukraine to South Africa.

Vladimir Putin clearly underestimated the power of our people and the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and a victory for them will be a victory for the world.

February 24 2022 is a day that will forever remain in infamy, marked in the history of our country and our people as the beginning of Putin’s war against us, Ukrainians. Whatever justification for the invasion he talks about, the many, ever-shifting reasons and motives for his war, the main goal is the destruction of Ukrainian statehood and the Ukrainian people.

It is hard to find a single Ukrainian family that would not be affected by this grief.

We have already gone through the worst period of this war, we have already lost thousands or tens of thousands of our best defenders. But we persevered. We did not break. We are winning.

We proved during this terrible year that the Ukrainian people cannot be defeated! We are united and united in the fight for our survival and right to self-determination. We will ultimately win, and Ukraine will be free and independent. 

Ukrainian people will always remember their heroes.

Putin did not anticipate such resistance and unity among Ukrainians. As he did not expect such a consolidation of the democratic countries all over Europe and the world opposing his aggression. The decisive and determining role in this certainly must be played by the United Nations. The issue of reforming the UN Security Council will be one of the outcomes of Ukraine’s Victory.


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The past 365 days of Russia’s war of choice showed that Putin clearly underestimated the power of our people and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The colossal aid that comes massively from our sincere friends and partners has significantly strengthened the combat capabilities of the Ukrainian army, helping the tough soldiers who are extremely motivated to defend their country and civil population – while Russian soldiers don’t even know the real reasons they are finding themselves in the sovereign territory of a neighbouring country… and more than 100,000 have had to pay the ultimate price for Putin’s historic mistake.

Closer to collapse

After one year of his “three-day special operation”, Putin has never been weaker. The war with Ukraine is becoming more and more real and more unpopular among the Russian population, even as his rampant propaganda machine is constantly blasting his madder and madder lies. With his aggressive policy, Putin is bringing the Russian Federation closer to collapse. Many inside Russia are beginning to realise, and not only his own machinery, that troubled times are ahead. The younger generation of Russians do not want to live in a country that is hated by (almost) the entire world and which is becoming more and more isolated from the rest of the world due to this unprovoked and historically wrong aggression, perpetrated by a corrupt dictatorship regime. 

Read in Daily Maverick: 

You’re witnessing a real genocide in Ukraine, not a virtual simulation

Ukrainian heritage and culture are coming home. Period

We can see clearly, following Putin’s recent two hours of delusion, that his regime exists in a parallel reality.

Russia is not completely sure of the success of the “military operation” anymore. Every day brings significant changes that seriously affect this assessment, and this makes this war of Good and Evil even more dangerous and unpredictable for the rest of the world. 

So, why does Ukraine have to win this war? Because this is the only way to achieve lasting and sustainable peace. Russia proved that it doesn’t want to stop the war, so Ukraine must win. This is the only way we can protect our people from the beast raising its head again. Ukraine is fighting for democracy worldwide. Our victory is the victory of those who believe in the rule of law over those who don’t respect it.

With our struggle, we, Ukrainians, are giving other democracies time to strengthen and sustain themselves… Please use this time Ukraine has afforded you to think about the future, your own future.

Glory to Ukraine! Glory to our Heroes! DM

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  • Beyond Fedup says:

    SLAVA UKRAINA! 🇺🇦🙏💪⚡️ Keep up the sterling work that you do, pointing out the reality and peril that Ukraine and democracies are facing. It is our fight as well against the forces of evil, rapine, destruction and murder. Only the most foolish, wayward, malicious and brain-dead (including our cowardly, inept and hypocritical government) would ever believe the misinformation, lies, deception and propaganda that spews forth from the evil mass-murderer Putin and his hideous Kremlin and henchmen. Putin is a nothing-nik idiot – a little obnoxious macho “man” with a huge, false and brittle ego – he miscalculated so badly in what he thought would be a walk in the park. He has now also unleashed a veritable Pandora’s box in his own backyard. Not only are the long suffering and highly abused Russian population stirring, but all the nations within like Chechens etc. want their freedom by casting off the repressive yoke around their necks, only held in check by the barrel of the gun. There will come a point where all these people will rise up – mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters who have lost their menfolk for nothing – for one “man’s” deranged and fabricated war and their revenge will be terrible. Putin and his cronies must burn in hell!

  • Caroline Rich says:

    ‘ Putin did not anticipate such resistance and unity among Ukrainians. As he did not expect such a consolidation of the democratic countries all over Europe and the world opposing his aggression’. But not South Africa!! As De Ruyter pointed out, our government officials call each other comrade which was last used when the Berlin Wall fell. Such an embarrassment, I hang my head in shame.

  • LOUISE NIEHAUS says:

    Sergio well said – you covered it all. SLAVA UKRAINE

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