Zelensky Says Putin Failed to Achieve War Goals as Ukraine Marks Fourth Anniversary
The fourth anniversary of Ukraine-Russia war was marked in Kyiv by commemorations and the presence of European leaders, as fighting continues and diplomatic efforts remain ongoing.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday marked the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion by accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of failing to achieve his objectives in Ukraine and declaring that Kyiv would do “everything” possible to secure a strong and lasting peace, according to AFP.
In a video address released on February 24, Zelensky said Moscow had attempted to take over Ukraine but had not succeeded. According to AFP, the anniversary falls four years after Russian troops entered Ukraine on February 24, 2022, triggering what has become the deadliest conflict on European soil since World War II.
“Putin has not achieved his goals. He did not break the Ukrainians. He did not win this war. We have preserved Ukraine, and we will do everything to achieve peace — and to ensure there is justice,” Zelensky said in his address, according to AFP.
Today marks exactly four years since Putin started his three-day push to take Kyiv. And that says a great deal about our resistance, about how Ukraine has fought all this time. Behind those words stand millions of our people, immense courage, incredibly hard work, endurance, and… pic.twitter.com/9qiqACurhx
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 24, 2026
He added that Ukraine was ready to do “everything” it could to secure what he described as a “strong, dignified, and lasting peace.” According to AFP, Zelensky said any agreement “must not simply be signed, it must be accepted by Ukrainians.”
AFP reported that several European leaders were in Ukraine on Tuesday to mark the anniversary. Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson were among those who arrived in Kyiv, Ukraine’s foreign minister said, according to AFP.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was also in Kyiv. According to AFP, she said in a video posted to social media that she wanted to reaffirm that Europe stood “unwaveringly with Ukraine, financially, militarily, and through this harsh winter.”
“And to send a clear message to the Ukrainian people and to the aggressor alike: we will not relent until peace is restored. Peace on Ukraine’s terms,” she said, according to AFP.
AFP reported that von der Leyen was expected to attend a commemoration ceremony and visit a Ukrainian energy facility damaged by Russian strikes before meeting Zelensky and taking part in a videoconference with Kyiv’s allies, including Britain, France and Germany.
According to AFP, hundreds of thousands have died since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, devastating large parts of the country and leaving it facing extensive reconstruction needs. The fighting has continued despite renewed diplomatic efforts.
AFP reported that talks between Russia and Ukraine were relaunched last year by the United States. Negotiators from Russia, Ukraine and the United States met in Abu Dhabi and later in Geneva in January and February 2026. According to AFP, those discussions have so far failed to halt the fighting.
The United States has been pushing for an end to the conflict, but Moscow and Kyiv remain divided over territory, AFP reported. Russia occupies around 20 percent of Ukraine and is seeking full control of the eastern Donetsk region as part of any settlement.
According to AFP, Russia has threatened to take the remainder of the Donetsk region by force if Kyiv does not agree at the negotiating table. Ukraine has rejected that demand and said it would not sign a deal without security guarantees from allies, including the United States, aimed at deterring further Russian military action.
AFP reported that Moscow has in recent months escalated attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, cutting heating and power to millions of Ukrainians during winter. Russia has carried out drone and missile strikes across the country, according to AFP.
Kyiv’s allies have imposed heavy sanctions on Moscow, forcing it to redirect key oil exports toward new markets, particularly in Asia, AFP reported. Despite reported heavy losses, Russian troops have advanced slowly along parts of the front line, especially in the eastern Donbas region, which Moscow seeks to annex, according to AFP.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly warned that he would pursue his objectives by force if diplomacy fails. According to AFP, during a medal ceremony marking “Defenders of the Fatherland Day,” Putin said Russian soldiers were defending Russia’s “borders” to ensure “strategic parity” between powers and to fight for the country’s “future.”
AFP reported that Russia has cast its decision to send troops into Ukraine as a defensive move to halt Ukraine’s ambition to join NATO. Ukraine, a former Soviet republic, considers the war a resurgence of Russian imperialism aimed at subjugating the Ukrainian people, according to AFP.
Ahead of the anniversary last week, Zelensky told AFP that Ukraine was not losing the war and urged European countries to deploy troops right on the front line in the event of a ceasefire to protect against Russia attacking again.
French President Emmanuel Macron described the war as a “triple failure for Russia,” according to a separate AFP report marking the anniversary. Macron said the conflict had failed militarily, economically and strategically for Moscow and pledged continued support for Ukraine and additional sanctions.
According to AFP, Macron said more than 1.2 million Russian soldiers had been wounded or killed, describing it as the highest number of Russian combat casualties since World War II. He also said the war had strengthened NATO and united European countries.
“So that Ukraine can hold out and so that Russia understands that time is not on its side,” Macron said, according to AFP. “To those who think they can count on our fatigue: they are mistaken.”
AFP reported that Macron was to co-chair a new meeting of Ukraine’s allies on Tuesday, saying the gathering must allow participants to continue moving forward.
The war has also imposed a severe economic burden on Ukraine. According to AFP, the cost of post-war reconstruction is estimated at around $588 billion over the next decade, based on a joint report by the World Bank, the European Union and the United Nations published Monday with Kyiv.
AFP reported that the conflict has destroyed much of eastern and southern Ukraine. The war has left tens or hundreds of thousands dead and forced millions of refugees to flee their homes.
According to AFP’s chronology of the conflict, Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, after recognizing the independence of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions. Russian forces advanced rapidly in the south and northeast but failed to seize the capital, Kyiv.
AFP reported that Ukrainian counteroffensives in 2022 retook parts of the Kharkiv region and the southern city of Kherson. In 2024, Russian forces regained the initiative on the front line and advanced slowly in the east.
In August 2024, Ukrainian troops crossed into Russia’s Kursk region but were driven out in March 2025, according to AFP. Russia has also used a new nuclear-capable intermediate-range ballistic missile, nicknamed Oreshnik, striking Ukrainian facilities in November 2024 and January 2026, AFP reported.
Despite renewed diplomatic efforts in 2025 and 2026, AFP reported that Moscow continues to demand that Kyiv withdraw completely from the eastern Donbas region, a demand Ukraine rejects.
Four years after the invasion began, Zelensky reiterated in his anniversary address, according to AFP, that Ukraine would pursue peace but only under terms accepted by its people.