The most recent information on the ongoing Russian assault, Kiev’s counteroffensive, Western military assistance, the international response, and the fate of civilians is provided in RFE/live RL’s briefing. To view all of RFE/coverage RL’s of the war, click here.
On December 7, the two presidents addressed a number of human rights organizations.
Speaking during a live broadcast of his Human Rights Council, Putin said that the “special military operation” may last for a very long time, citing the acquisition of a portion of the Ukrainian territory as a key accomplishment.
Almost nine and a half months after the invasion was planned, Putin acknowledged, “Of course it might be a lengthy procedure.”
Also read: As conflict erupts in eastern Ukraine, Zelenskyy urges for mass evacuations.
Putin reiterated his allegation that he was forced to send soldiers to Ukraine and vowed to “constantly fight for our interests” and “to safeguard us by any means possible.”
Putin called the new territory “a tremendous result for Russia,” saying that the Sea of Azov “has become Russia’s inland sea” and recalling the battles Tsar Peter the Great had to wage to get there.
During a nearly three-month siege of the city, Russia finally took control of the Sea of Azov port of Mariupol in May. Although though Russian forces did not have complete authority over Kherson, Zaporizhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk in September, Putin nonetheless illegally seized the four Ukrainian territories. In 2014, Russia forcibly invaded the Crimean peninsula of UkraineUkraine has managed to retake some areas, including the city of Kherson and the entire right bank of the Kherson region, after Russian forces withdrew last month.
Zelenskyy, speaking at the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Foundation, said Ukrainian forces have liberated 1,888 settlements from Russian occupation so far in the fighting.
The war had become a war of survival, he said.
“Hundreds of our towns and villages were simply burned down by Russian strikes,” he said. “We have already managed to free 1,888 settlements from occupation. But almost as many Ukrainian towns and villages remain occupied. And that means that the fate of millions of people is now being decided on the battlefield in Ukraine.”
He stressed that Ukraine would not leave “any of our people under Russian occupation,” in Russian camps “where thousands have already disappeared,” or on Russian territory “where hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have been forcibly deported.”
The issue of nuclear weapons was also discussed at Putin’s meetings with the Human Rights Council, the majority of whose members are people who fully support the Kremlin’s policies. Asked by a council member to promise that Russia would not be the first to use nuclear weapons, Putin refused to offer any guarantees.
