Nearly 18 million Ukrainians, including seven million internally displaced people, are in need of assistance. More than 6.5 million left the country. The country has lost at least 9,000 military personnel and, it is believed, tens of thousands of civilians. Russia took over a fifth of the territory. Nevertheless, on Ukraine’s independence day, the message was one of defiance, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying that “concessions or compromises” were “destroyed by missiles on February 24” and demanding the country’s territorial integrity.
Nothing new, at least at another governmental level. Also on the day that six months have passed since the start of the Russian invasion, the Washington Post, which has been publishing details about the background to the “special military operation” and the following days, tells how the Ukrainian Defense Minister responded to the Russian promise the end of the invasion in exchange for capitulation. Oleksi Reznikov, who did not believe in a Russian invasion, received a call on the third day of the invasion from his Belarusian counterpart, Viktor Khrenin, a messenger for Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. On the other end of the line, “Reznikov heard a nervous and uncomfortable voice” with Moscow’s proposal. “I am willing to accept capitulation on the Russian side,” Reznikov replied.
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