Grim Determination in Ukraine As Fourth Anniversary of War Nears
Russian strikes continue to kill Ukrainians as the fourth anniversary of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine approaches. There's no end in sight to the fighting, but Ukrainians have adapted as best they can and are trying to make something out of the hard times they're living through.
Four Years of Ukraine War
REPORTER:
Russia’s war in Ukraine will round out its fourth year on Tuesday, and despite peace talks, Russian attacks aren’t letting up. Ukrainians don’t expect peace soon, but they're not giving up.
Ukrainian police handcuff a woman they believe is behind a deadly bombing in the city of Lviv—possibly under Russian instructions.
Bombs hidden in trashcans went off early Sunday as police responded to a reported break in.
Police have detained several people in connection with the attack, but that hasn’t eased nerves around the neighborhood, where buildings are damaged.
Ms. Chou (RESIDENT OF DAMAGED BUILDING):
Our mother is with us and she is unable to walk. It is a war, and in [her room] there is a bed not far from the window. My friend in her room taped up the windows and that saved her. Then in that room all the windows were completely broken and that film held them back a little, so everyone is unhurt, thank God.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy (PRESIDENT):
It is difficult to call it otherwise as it was precisely a cynical and cruel terrorist act. Two explosions, the second one when the rescuers arrived on site. Twenty-five people were wounded. Unfortunately, one person, a policewoman, died. She was 23 years old – my condolences to friends and family.
REPORTER:
If Russia did order the blasts, it’s a new tactic in a war that, by Tuesday, will have gone on for four years.
But Russia hasn’t stopped conventional attacks either—despite rounds of talks aimed at pausing its invasion of Ukraine. Overnight into Sunday, Ukraine’s air force says Russia launched 50 missiles and 297 drones. Among the places they hit was this residential area near Kyiv.
Ukraine has been striking back, even hitting targets deep within Russia. It says this footage from Friday shows Flamingo missiles sent to strike an important military factory 1,400km from the Russian border. The strike injured eleven people.
REPORTER:
Ukraine hasn’t been the easy target Russian President Vladimir Putin may have expected when he launched his so-called “Special Military Operation” in 2022. But peace doesn’t seem to be near. Russia wants Ukrainian troops to withdraw from parts of eastern Ukraine—a non-starter for Kyiv. Some Ukrainians feel resigned to the fight.
Ivan Petrov (UKRAINIAN SOLDIER):
It seems that it has become a little harder mentally, because in the first years we hoped that war would end soon, but now there is no end in sight. And then there are the power cuts.
Serhiy Kovalenko (UKRAINIAN SOLDIER):
Since I am a soldier, it has changed a lot. I feel it during my work. Literally, more drones, more danger. War has changed. That's how I feel about it.
REPORTER:
But amid the struggles, people are trying to make something out of the hand they've been dealt.
Oksana Ivanenko (RESIDENT):
I noticed that many pregnant women appeared. Everyone started giving birth, everyone started opening businesses and doing everything they had been putting off all this time. Because everyone realized that there was no point in waiting for the end of the war. Life goes on now.
REPORTER:
Four years of Europe’s deadliest conflict since WWII isn’t bringing much in the way of hope. But over the years, Ukraine’s people have settled into a grim determination to stick it out—setting up warm shelters when the heat goes out, distributing food, and making sure the kids get their homework done—even if there's no way to know when the next strike will come.
