Putin's plan/ Zelensky's zest: Where Russia's Ukraine war stands on anniversary?
Russia-Ukraine War: Russia continued to target the West over its support of Ukraine as the country's defence minister Sergei Shoigu cast the war as an existential fight against a hostile West.
Russia's war in Ukraine dragged into its second year today. Is there an end in sight? The world wonders about the war that has killed tens of thousands of people, flattened cities and towns and forced millions to flee. Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24 last year with the hope of capturing the country but Ukraine stepped up to the challenge, blunting Russia's ambitions and embarrassing their leader.
Read more: Key moments in a year of war after Russia invaded Ukraine
Through the year, Ukraine attempted to grab back much of the territory that it lost early on in a war which has been attritional for both the sides. One year on, Russia controls around a fifth of Ukraine but still eyes escalating the conflict while Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky maintains a hard line on any potential talks of peace.
Russia continued to target the West over its support of Ukraine as the country's defence minister Sergei Shoigu cast the war as an existential fight against a hostile West.
"Using Ukraine, the collective West is seeking to dismember Russia, to deprive it of its independence. These attempts are doomed to fail," Sergei Shoigu said.
To mark the war's first anniversary, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution, demanding that Moscow should withdraw its troops and stop fighting. There were 141 votes in favor and 32 abstentions - Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea, Mali, Nicaragua and Syria.
Read more: UN adopts resolution for peace in Ukraine; India, China abstain from vote
Russia's Deputy UN Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy dismissed the resolution as "useless" which Zelensky said was "a powerful signal of unflagging global support for Ukraine".
In a sign of support for Ukraine, US president Joe Biden will meet G7 leaders and Zelensky virtually to mark the anniversary and announce new sanctions against those helping Russia's war effort, the White House said.
But Vladimir Putin's plans to escalate the war further as the Russian president announced deployment of new Sarmat multi-warhead intercontinental ballistic missiles this year. Earlier this week, he also suspended Russia's participation with the United States in the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) on nuclear arms control as heaviest fighting has been witnessed in and around the eastern city of Bakhmut and Vuhledar further south.
