Putin ‘Has Already Lost’ War: Former Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko

The former Ukrainian president who was poisoned by Russians in 2004 said Wednesday that Russia has already been defeated, but Ukraine hasn’t necessarily won the war. Viktor Yushchenko, who was Ukraine’s third president, made remarks on his country’s Independence Day and, ironically, the half-year mark of the current war with Russia.

Yushchenko said Ukraine has “already given heat” to Russia and President Vladimir Putin. Yushchenko also said his country has shown the world it can fight, and that it won’t back down.

“The last three days, which are full of events from Janka to all the airports that the Ukrainian partisans got, gives a lot of hope,” Yushchenko told Ukraine’s Pravda media. “It all says that we are in a situation where Putin has already lost, of course. But we have not won yet.”

Wednesday marks the six-month mark for Russia’s war of aggression. Russia began building troops along Ukraine’s northern and western borders in late January, and they began attacking Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Since then, there have been heavy casualties on both sides. That includes Ukrainian civilians, foreign fighters, Ukrainian military and more than 45,000 Russians.

Russia failed to overtake Kyiv, Lviv and Odesa, but they occupied many regions in the eastern portion of Ukraine. Russia has occupied most of the Donbas Oblast, which includes Luhansk, Severodonetsk, Donetsk and Mariupol. They occupied the Crimea peninsula in 2014.

Russia has also occupied the major southern cities of Kherson and Melitopol, inching their way toward Odesa and the southwestern Transnistria area near the Moldova border.

Wednesday was also Ukraine’s Independence Day. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian rockets pummeled the Chaplyne railway station in Dnipropetrovsk region. Zelensky said that at least 22 people had been killed and nearly another 50 injured from the blasts. Those numbers could climb as first responders continue to dig through the rubble.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (R) attend the opening ceremony of the International Military Technical Forum ‘Army 2022’, on August 15, 2022, in Kubinka, outside of Moscow, Russia. Putin hailed on Monday the Russian military’s action in Ukraine, which has triggered the massive Western sanctions, and thanked Moscow’s allies for their support. Photo by Contributor/Getty Images

Zelensky made his comments during a UN Security Council meeting.

“Rescuers are working. But, unfortunately, the number of dead may increase,” Zelensky said. “This is how we live every day. This is how Russia prepared for this meeting of the UN Security Council.”

Zelensky went on to emphasize the destruction of Chaplyna.

“Chaplyna is our pain today. As of this minute, 22 people have died, five of them burned in the car, a teenager died, he was 11 years old, a Russian rocket destroyed his house. Search and rescue operations at the railway station continue. We will definitely make the occupiers answer for everything they have done. And we will definitely throw the invaders out of our land.”

Yushchenko was running for the office of President of Ukraine in 2004 against a pro-Russian candidate when he was poisoned by Russians. Yushchenko went on to serve as leader of the country from 2005-2010.