KYIV, Feb 24: Ukraine marked the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion on Tuesday with a show of solidarity from its staunchest allies, but with no end in sight to Europe's bloodiest conflict since World War II.
Tens of thousands of lives have been lost since the Kremlin ordered troops into Ukraine on February 24, 2022, confident of a quick victory but not expecting the fierce resistance that followed.
The worldwide fallout of the war has been immense, with many European countries increasing their own defence spending in anticipation of a possible confrontation of their own with Russia.
Talks between the two sides, relaunched last year by the United States, have so far failed to halt the fighting, which has devastated Ukraine and left it facing the mammoth task of reconstruction.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen was in Kyiv to mark the occasion, posting a video saying she was visiting for the tenth time since the war began to reaffirm that Europe stood "unwaveringly with Ukraine, financially, militarily, and through this harsh winter".
"And to send a clear message to the Ukrainian people and to the aggressor alike: we will not relent until peace is restored. Peace on Ukraine's terms," she said.
She is expected to take part in a "commemoration ceremony" and visit a Ukrainian energy facility damaged by Russian strikes before meeting President Volodymyr Zelensky.
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Von der Leyen will also take part in a videoconference with Kyiv's allies, including Britain, France and Germany.
- Impasse -
Russia, which currently occupies nearly 20 percent of Ukrainian territory, bombs civilian areas and infrastructure on a daily basis.
The bombardment has sparked the worst energy crisis since the start of the invasion, with plunging winter temperatures adding to the suffering.
Kyiv's allies have slapped heavy sanctions on Moscow, forcing it to redirect its key oil exports towards new markets, particularly in Asia.
Despite heavy losses, Russian troops have in recent months advanced slowly on the front line, particularly in the eastern Donbas region, which Moscow wants to annex.
US-brokered talks are ongoing, with Zelensky unwavering in his demands for security guarantees from Washington before any talk of "compromise", including on territory, with Russia.
Russia, though, has rejected Ukrainian proposals for the deployment of European troops in Ukraine after any ceasefire deal.
President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly warned that he will pursue his objectives by force if diplomacy fails.
- Reconstruction -
The grinding four-year war has devastated Ukraine, which even before the fighting was one of the poorest countries in Europe.
According to a joint World Bank, European Union and United Nations report with Kyiv, published on Monday, the cost of post-war reconstruction is estimated at around $558 billion over the next decade.
Russia justified sending troops into Ukraine to prevent Ukraine's ambition to join NATO, arguing that Kyiv's membership of the transatlantic alliance would threaten its own security.
On Monday, during a medal ceremony to mark "Defenders of the Fatherland Day", Putin insisted that his soldiers were defending Russia's "borders" to ensure "strategic parity" between powers and fight for the country's "future".
Ukraine, a former Soviet republic, considers the war to be a resurgence of Russian imperialism aimed at subjugating the Ukrainian people.
In an interview with the BBC broadcast on Sunday, Zelensky said he believed Putin had "already started" World War III.
"Russia wants to impose on the world a different way of life and change the lives people have chosen for themselves," he told the British public broadcaster.
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