The war has touched everyone in Ukraine, in so many different ways, from losses on the battlefield, to the scattering of families, and the search for warmth and light in the midst of Russia’s winter bombardments.
In Zelensky’s lengthy morning video address, the Ukrainian president was seen striding through subterranean corridors of the presidential palace in central Kyiv – underground passages lined with pipes and cables, reminiscent of Winston Churchill’s World War Two offices in London.
Acknowledging the staggering loss of life Ukraine has endured, Zelensky said: “We have every right to say: we have defended our independence, we have not lost our statehood. Ukraine exists not just on the map.”
The video offered a rare glimpse of the world where the president and his staff have spent much of their time since February 2022.
“This is where I held my first conversations with world leaders at the start of the war,” Zelensky said as he walked along echoing underground passages.
Back then, many thought Zelensky’s days were numbered and that Ukraine would fall.
Instead, four years on, Ukraine continues to hold its own against Russian troops across the east of the country, at an ever-increasing cost of manpower and resources for Moscow.
A meeting of the so-called Coalition of the Willing was also held on Tuesday, with many leaders dialling in to Kyiv. Led by Britain and France, the coalition currently numbers around 35 countries, some of which say they are willing to deploy troops to Ukraine to ensure any potential ceasefire holds.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, speaking via video-link, told fellow leaders it was “wrong” to think that Russia holds the upper hand. Over the past year, Starmer said, Russia “took 0.8% of land in Ukraine at a terrible cost to themselves of half a million losses”.
However, French President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged the glacial pace of peace negotiations, saying he was “very sceptical” about the possibility of achieving “peace in the short term” in Ukraine.