Second anniversary of Ukraine war: Anti-war sentiments rise, even amongst Russians abroad

The second anniversary of the war in Ukraine: You will find the most important updates in our LIVE REPORT

"'Nobody pays us - we hate you for free' - Anti-war rally in Georgia: Russians living in Batumi voiced their opposition to Putin's governance and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.", is what Biełsat TV reported on platform X.

The post displayed images of the protest, with slogans such as "No to war", "Navalny forever in our hearts", and "Nobody pays us, we hate you for free".

On February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a "special military operation" in Donbas. The supposed aim was the “demilitarization and de-Nazification of Ukraine”. Russian forces initiated a full-scale invasion, attacking Ukrainian territories from the north, including Belarus, from the east, and from the south via the annexed Crimea.

Missile strikes targeted military structures and airports, including those in Kiev, Kharkov, Odessa, as well as in the Lviv and Donbas regions. The Ukrainian authorities also reported a widespread cyber-attack that compromised banks, among other institutions.

In the initial stages, virtually all Russian forces, numbering around 120,000 to 150,000 troops stationed near the border, entered Ukraine.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine resulted in over 10,000 civilian deaths, with at least twice that number injured, forcing several million Ukrainians to flee.

According to American and British intelligence, the losses on the Russian side could be as high as 300,000 to 350,000 dead and injured soldiers, with a minimum of 200,000 on the Ukrainian side. However, it is impossible to accurately determine the military casualty count.

Sources: Biełsat, WP News, PAP