New Delhi: Ukraine "will prevail" over invading Russian troops, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday, a day before the first anniversary of Moscow's assault on his country, news agency AFP reported.
"We have not broken down, we have overcome many ordeals and we will prevail. We will hold to account all those who brought this evil, this war to our land," AFP quoted Zelensky as saying.
Notably, the year-long conflict has seen Western leaders step up their support for Kyiv, and on Thursday, G7 ministers discussed new sanctions on Russia as UN General Assembly prepared to vote on a motion calling for "lasting" peace.
"Never in recent history has the line between good and evil been so clear. One country merely wants to live. The other wants to kill and destroy," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told the world body on Wednesday.
In India, G7 finance ministers met in Bengaluru to discuss further sanctions and more financial help for Ukraine. They urged the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday to deliver a new aid package to Ukraine by the end of March.
Meanwhile, residents remained defiant in Kyiv, that witnessed Russian troops at its doorstep at the start of the war last February and relentless attacks on energy infrastructure since.
"This has been the most difficult year of my life and that of all Ukrainians," AFP quoted Diana Shestakova, 23, who works for a publishing house and whose boyfriend has spent the last year away in the army, as saying. "I am sure that we will be victorious, but we don't know how long we will have to wait and how many victims there are still to come."
Ahead of the Russian invasion’s first anniversary on February 24, Ukraine's military intelligence chief said Russia was planning a missile attack to mark the day.
"February 23-24, they have two dates," Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview to newspaper Ukrainskaya Pravda, adding, "Believe me, we have survived this more than 20 times already."