Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, has vowed that his country would use 2025 to fight for an end to Russia’s nearly three-year-long invasion by any means necessary.
Zelensky’s address caps a difficult year for the country which has been fending off a better-resourced Russian army for nearly three years.
The Ukrainian leader, in an address to the nation just before the clock struck midnight in Kyiv, said may 2025 be their year.
“We know that peace will not be given to us as a gift but we will do everything to stop Russia and end the war,” he said.
Since the war began, Ukraine has lost seven times more territory to Russia in 2024 than in 2023, and is facing the possibility of a reduction in US military and political backing when Donald Trump takes over the White House.
Zelensky, in his New Year address, said that Ukraine had to continue to fight to gain the upper hand both on the battlefield and ahead of any prospective peace talks.
“Every day in the coming year, I, and all of us, must fight for a Ukraine that is strong enough,” the Ukrainian leader said.
The incumbent US President Joe Biden’s administration unveiled almost $6 billion in military and budget aid for Ukraine on Monday in a race to support Kyiv before president-elect, Donald Trump, takes office in January.
Trump has promised to end the conflict in 24 hours once in power, raising fears in Ukraine that it will be forced to give up all the land the Kremlin currently controls in exchange for peace.
