Must See: 100 Days In, Ukrainians Are Still Standing Strong Against Russia's Brutal Terror Campaign

By Jacob Taylor | Sunday, 05 June 2022 04:45 PM
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Must See: 100 Days In, Ukrainians Are Still Standing Strong Against Russia's Brutal Terror Campaign

When Vladimir Putin sent soldiers into Ukraine in late February, the Russian President promised his soldiers would not hold the country. However, as the invasion reached its 100th day Friday, Moscow seemed increasingly reluctant to abandon the territory it has taken in the war.

The ruble is now an official currency in the southern Kherson region, alongside the Ukrainian hryvnia. Citizens there and in Russia-controlled parts of the Zaporizhzhya region are being offered expedited Russian passports. The Kremlin-installed administrations in both regions have talked about plans to become part of Russia.

The Moscow-backed leaders of separatist areas in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region, mostly Russian-speaking, have expressed similar intentions. Putin acknowledged the separatists' self-proclaimed republics as independent two days before launching the invasion, and intense fighting has been underway in the east for weeks as Russia seeks to “liberate” all of the Donbas.

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The Kremlin has mostly stayed silent about its plans for the cities, towns and villages it has bombarded, encircled and finally seized. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said it will be up to the people living in held areas to decide their status.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this week that enemy forces now control almost 20% of the country's territory. Before the war, Russia controlled 7%, including the Crimea Peninsula and parts of the Donbas.

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However, in a video message marking the war's first 100 days, Zelenskyy made it clear Ukraine will not surrender easily.

“We have defended Ukraine for 100 days already. Victory will be ours,” he said.

U.S. President Joe Biden, meanwhile, said he believes “there’s going to have to be a negotiated settlement” to end the war. Asked if Ukraine should give up territory in exchange for peace, the president said, “It's their territory” and "I’m not going to tell them what they should and shouldn’t do.”

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Originally, at least, annexing more land from Ukraine was not supposed to be the primary goal of the invasion. It was broadly assumed that the Kremlin intended to install a pro-Moscow government in Kyiv that would prevent Ukraine from joining NATO and pulling further away from Russia’s influence.

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Though now, Moscow is unlikely to let go of its military gains, according to political analysts.

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“Of course (Russia) intends to stay,” said Andrei Kolesnikov, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. To Russia, “it’s a pity to give away what has been occupied, even if it was not part of the original plan.”

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Russian forces seized much of Kherson and neighboring Zaporizhzhia early in the war, gaining control over most of Ukraine’s Sea of Azov coast and securing a partial land corridor to the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. They completed the takeover last month with the capture of the port city of Mariupol following a three-month siege.

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