Saudi observers say Shawwal crescent may be visible on Saturday    Tourism Ministry enforces closure orders, warns violators of penalties    King Salman, Crown Prince extend condolences to Thailand's king over earthquake victims    Elon Musk's xAI acquires X in all-stock deal    Makkah and Madinah mobile data usage exceeds global average during Ramadan: CST    US, Japan mark 80th anniversary of Iwo Jima battle with memorial service    Trump signals openness to auto tariff deal    Sweet sales surge ahead of Eid as Saudi chocolate imports top 123 million kg in 2024    Trump renews push to acquire Greenland    Myanmar earthquake death toll climbs to 144    Over 2.5 million attend Khatm Al-Qur'an prayers in Makkah    World's largest barbershop opens at Clock Towers Center in Makkah to serve pilgrims    Saudi non-oil exports jump 10.7% in January    Saudi creatives shine at Jeddah's Fawanees Nights with art, fashion, and storytelling    T1 CEO confirms Gumayusi's return for LCK Spring after lineup shakeup    100 Thieves claim Marvel Rivals Invitational NA crown as 2025 scene heats up    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Saudi Arabia hold Japan to goalless draw in Saitama to stay in World Cup hunt    Disney's Snow White film tops box office despite bad reviews    NewJeans announces hiatus after setback in court battle    George Foreman, heavyweight champion and cultural icon, dies at 76    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    King Salman prays for peace and stability for Palestinians in Ramadan message King reaffirms Saudi Arabia's commitment to serving the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims    Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan 'out of danger' after attack at home in Mumbai    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    









Two years into Russia's invasion, exhausted Ukrainians refuse to give up
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 24 - 02 - 2024

It translates as "crooked horn", but President Zelensky calls Kryvyi Rih his "big soul and heart".
He credits this gritty, industrial city with molding his character. He grew up in a sprawling block of flats known as the Anthill.
When you stand in front of this towering structure, Volodymyr Zelensky's journey from this setting to wartime leader feels remarkable.
"I want the war to end soon," said Vita, who lived near Zelensky's parents. "He's a normal, good guy who fights for people. I just want this war and the sirens to end sooner."
But with minimal Ukrainian progress and growing Russian dominance, there is no end in sight, and that's both fueling and being fueled by influential pockets of Western doubters.
At the recent Munich Security Conference, President Zelensky told delegates not to ask Ukraine when the war would end, but instead to "ask why Putin is still able to continue it".
With blocked military aid now directly hampering his forces on the front line, it was a swipe at those delaying the ammunition and weapons his soldiers desperately need.
"I'm no politician," confesses Valeriy, a man in his 80s perched outside a grocery shop. "We can't ask when the war will stop again.
"We must fight; we won't tolerate anything else. People are so angry now."
That appetite to defend has remained mostly intact since that morning on Feb. 24, 2022. Against a terrifying unknown, people volunteered in their thousands to join Ukraine's fight.
The world's gaze turned to Kyiv, from where I was reporting.
President Zelensky's profile and popularity went stratospheric as he turned down offers of evacuation and remained in Kyiv.
"I need ammunition, not a ride," he said in a now iconic quote.
His needs have not changed, but his pleas have lost their electrifying impact.
A failed counter-offensive in 2023 led to uncomfortable questions over whether Ukraine is capable of liberating its territory.
Republican doubters in the US are hindering Ukraine's ability to fight by blocking billions of dollars worth of military aid. Kyiv says more frontline troops are dying as a result of weapon shortages and dwindling ammunition.
All the while, Russia has remained on a war footing, and its allies North Korea and Iran are supplying more missiles to rain down on Ukrainian cities.
Kryvyi Rih isn't immune to the fatigue most of the country feels. Some have had enough of this war, many men are fearful of being conscripted, and yet they say the conflict is still a fight for survival.
The idea of a compromise or concession to Russia is viewed as a defeat. It's existential.
In a symptom of the world Ukrainians live in, I now associate playgrounds with death.
The last time I saw children play in one was at a school next to my flat in Kyiv, before the invasion. Now they are the site of a devastating missile strike, lying abandoned on a front line, or in Brovary, near Kyiv, the scene of a helicopter crash.
Youthful innocence replaced with body bags and destruction.
In Kryvyi Rih, we meet a tearful Yuriy as he watches his flat get demolished after a missile strike last year. Exposed wallpaper patterns reveal the different lives destroyed.
"No one needs this war, what is it for anyway?" he asks. "So many people are being killed."
So, does he think Ukraine should swap territory for peace?
"Definitely not," he replies bluntly. "A lot of people died for those territories. There is no point in giving them up."
Map of Ukraine
The lack of battlefield progress caused a corrosive rift between President Zelensky and the head of his armed forces Valerii Zaluzhnyi. Now sacked, Gen. Zaluzhnyi is seen as a potential political rival to his old boss.
Around Kryvyi Rih, Ukrainians try to help where their country's allies increasingly will not. In one inconspicuous building, a growing army of volunteers stitch camouflage nettings for troops on the front line.
The men and women are kept separate because of "their different jokes," explained the organizer.
In another industrial wing of the city, a former bike club has swapped cycling for smoke. Teams mix chemicals into canisters which will become smoke grenades. A useful military tool if you are trying to attack, or evacuate the injured.
"It's impossible to stay at home with my thoughts when my husband is fighting," explains Ines, one of the volunteers. "Here I feel I can do something to make it easier for them."
Russia's decade of aggression towards Ukraine began with the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and then spilled into a draining war in the country's east. On the 731st day of the full-scale invasion, it's a different kind of war.
While extraordinary, Ukraine's successes in defense and degrading Russia's navy have not changed the tide in its favor.
The novelty of this war has gone. Ukraine, Kryvyi Rih and its famous son will need to find new reserves of strength and a clever playbook to keep the world engaged. — BBC


Clic here to read the story from its source.