"Europe looks lost. Just last year, here in Davos, I ended my speech with the words: Europe needs to know how to defend itself. A year has passed. And nothing has changed."

"We are still in a situation where I must say the same words again."

"[Ukrainians too seem caught in that reality in the war] repeating the same thing for weeks, months and, of course, for years. And yet that is exactly how we live now. It's our life."

"[Europe] still feels more like a geography, history, a tradition, not a real political force, not a great power."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy 

Zelensky said repelling Monday night's attack had cost Ukraine about €80m (£69m) just in terms of air defence missiles  Reuters

 

In Kyiv, close to 3,000 multi-storey residential buildings are without heat. Some 600,000 residents of Kyiv have been evacuated in the wake of Moscow's recent blitz initiated on New Year's Day. This week, roughly 60 percent of the capital city of Ukraine had no electricity during the worst winter in recent years, with temperatures hovering at -10C. Misery lives on in Ukraine. And somehow, Ukrainians muster the endurance to go on. 

 

Ukraine's allies in Europe were treated to a blistering charge of lack of adequate engagement in protecting themselves by not doing more to protect Ukraine. The slow, fragmented, inadequate response to the invasion launched by Russia four years earlier and its ongoing international aggression by daring Europe to do anything about it has finally irked a man with the weight of his responsibilities to the point of exasperation with the very allies he so much depends upon.

Apartment buildings during subzero temperatures in Kyiv on Sunday. Oksana Parafeniuk for NBC News

 

Of course, Ukraine's ultimate fate also illustrates the potential of greater Europe's in the crosshairs of Vladimir Putin whose thirst for territorial gain will not be entirely quenched by an eventual success in looting territory from its neighbour. NATO and the European Union have thus far shown themselves to be less than fully engaged in rescuing one of their own -- if not in membership, then in solidarity with a sovereign nation aspiring to be one among them.

 

He had previously met once again privately with U.S. President Donald Trump in Davis. "Very good" talks, "Productive and meaningful", said Mr. Zelenskyy. And that could mean anything. It could mean that some hope still lies from that direction, and it could be a lie, to prevent his European allies from resigning themselves completely to surrendering all hope that slender threads remain before Ukraine is completely engulfed and their materiel aid has been for naught -- and  some among them are next in the lineup.

 

The financial, military and humanitarian support for Kyiv has been substantial, but against a much larger, better equipped military force, valiant Ukraine seems set for heavier territorial losses yet to come. Not all members of the 27-nation alliance are in support of Ukraine to be sure, but those that are can visualize their own sovereignty at risk, particularly those within the realm of Russia's unfortunate 'near abroad', the Baltic, Poland and the Nordic states. 

 

Sweden's security service said Russia's activities were mainly aimed at undermining Nato cohesion Getty Images

 

Since its February 2022 full invasion of  Ukraine, following initial kinetic hostilities in 2014, that gained Russia the annexation of Crimea, Russia has captured about 20 percent of Ukraine to the present. The 1,000-kilometre front line battles have still been an expensive gamble for the Kremlin with the Russian economy teetering under international sanctions, along with the cost of its invasion both in personnel and military hardware. 

 

Ukraine has proven adept in producing munitions of its own, in particular its drone manufacturing, but its need for financial aid from its allies is ongoing, as well as its dependence on Europe to continue providing it with the military weapons it so desperately ein need of to continue countering Russian advances; all the more so with its looming shortage of military operatives. 

 

Europe, Mr. Zelenskyy charged, has been too lax in acting on key decisions. It has spent too frugally on defence. Russia's 'shadow fleet' of oil tankers, breaking international sanctions have not been impeded as required. Worse, a consensus of agreement has not been reached for Russia's frozen assets to be used for finance Ukraine's battle for existence and eventual reconstruction. 

 

The world's attention, pivoting from Gaza and now to Iran has not been helpful in keeping Ukraine's plight under ongoing Russian attack front and centre, given a boost when President Trump began favouring Putin's war front over Ukraine's defense, which has now fizzled away, as the latest drama on the world stage continues to unfold, making Ukraine last week's news of diminished interest to a war-wearied global public. 

 

Poland, Sweden and others are buying subs to protect pipelines   Getty Imageseeee

Russia's Near-Abroad

"What we see in Ukraine, and the way Russia is waging war -- means that this strategy [NATO's batlegroup 'tripwires' meant to forestall Russia's territorial ambitions] needs to be adjusted."

"We do have to reassess the risk posture and how much we need to stand together against potential Russian incursions and aggression."

"Where the Russian military goes, not only is civilian infrastructure destroyed, but civilians are shot, maimed, murdered, raped, tortured, deported, killed."

"That means we need to have a more robust position in the Baltics to prevent an attack from occurring in the first place."

Latvian Prime Minister Arturs Krisjanis Karins

"Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay."

"We hope that the national steps still needed to make this decision will be taken rapidly within the next few days."

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto/Prime Minister Sanna Marin

"Definitely [Finland's accession to NATO poses a direct threat to Russia]."

"Definitely NATO expansion does not make our continent more stable and secure."

This cannot fail to arouse our regret, and is a reason for corresponding symmetrical responses on our side."

Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesman 

A first responder works at the site of a missile strike, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine in this handout

 

That 'symmetrical responses' phrase was attention-grabbing. Analysts might point out that past situations spoke to potential counter-measures the Kremlin could consider in the event that its neighbours decided to move closer to the West and to join NATO, a prospect that makes the Russian Federation very nervous indeed. And one that reputedly spurred Vladimir Putin to scorn Ukraine as a puppet of the West controlled by fascists which obligated Russia to invade and bring war to Ukraine, a stunning course of punishment.

Responses on a wider basis -- setting aside the prospect of a Russian invasion of all its neighbours simultaneously rather than the feared and anticipated sequentially at a time when the Russian military finds itself bogged down in one country -- could conceivably consist alternately of Russia placing nuclear-armed missiles on the Baltic Seacoast. When asked whether Finland might, by joining NATO, provoke Russia, its President said: "My response would be that you caused this. Look at the mirror".

The expectation of other NATO allies is that Finland, along with Sweden which has also stated its intention to apply for NATO membership, would be quickly granted membership. That would result in an increased troop presence to defend the Nordic region during the period of ratification that would take approximately a year. The irony is that Ukraine which has long sought NATO membership and has been put off for fear of aggravating Russia, was targeted with a "special military operation" to prevent just such NATO expansion.

 

A Ukrainian serviceman patrols an area, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in an undisclosed location in Kharkiv Region   Reuters

 

As the two largest EU countries to  join NATO to the present, Finland's 1,300-km border with Russia would double the frontier between NATO and Russia. NATO guards would be placed with this new alliance, a mere few hours' drive from the northern outskirts of St.Petersburg. As the world's sole superpower European nations feeling the stress and strain of a silent, looming threat from Russia, seek the protection of the world's largest and best-armed military, that of the United States.

Even while Moscow regards these events as a direct threat to its own influence and security in the region, it was that pre-emptive move to demonstrate that it would not tolerate NATO's creeping presence in the Russian near-abroad that motivated the Ukrainian invasion; the extended reach of which has been to shock, unnerve and convince Russia's neighbours that they're in dire need of the backing of an international coalition to give Russia pause over extending its 'special military operations' elsewhere.

And all will have taken note that Ukraine, though not a NATO member-nation, has been amply supported  with the supply of advanced technological weaponry which, together with the Ukraine military's fighting spirit in countering the Russian presence with a strong defense, has now transformed that hugely successful defense into an admirable counter-offensive, pushing Russian troops back towrd their own border, and even threatening Russian towns with the same treatment Russia meted out to Ukrainian towns.

Ukrainian service members fire with a self-propelled howitzer 2S1 Gvozdika, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in unknown location in Kharkiv region, Ukraine May 7, 2022. REUTERS/Serhii Nuzhnenko

A mother tends to her child who is undergoing cancer treatment in the bomb shelter. (Photo: Chris McGraph/Getty)

"These are patients who can not receive medical treatment at home, they cannot survive without medication, without medical treatment and medical workers."

"Of all things we need peace most ... all of this is the tip [of] an iceberg ... people are, for example, asking me where to buy insulin for children, pharmacies are not open."

Chief surgeon, Volodymyr Zhovnir, Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital, Kyiv

"There are bombings, sirens, we have to go [downstairs]."

"We also receive treatment here, medications we have, but we need more food ... basic stuff."

Maryna, mother of 9-yr-old cancer patient

Children were moved to the basement floor of Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital amid Russian attacks in Kyiv (Photo: Aytac Unal/Getty)

Under the Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital in Ukraine's capital city is the unfinished cement basement which now sees service as an underground bunker, housing dozens of children and their parents. Where they try to make themselves as comfortable as possible under the circumstances, sheltering from Russian bombing runs and artillery fire targeting civilian areas. They recline on mats. Some of the children must be connected to drips, others require additional oxygen.

 

Those patients who belong in intensive care cannot be moved. They have instead been placed in 'safe' areas (relatively speaking), of the building, where the thought is they may be less susceptible to strikes because of positioning. Other children sleep on chairs in reception areas, or along the corridors. Needless to say, it is not only the children and their attending parents who are in line of becoming victims of an errant bomb hitting the  hospital.

 

The safety and security of hospital personnel is yet another issue of concern, since care of these small patients is entirely dependent on the physical condition of those professionals in the medical community working out of the hospital dependent on them "We also must take care of personnel, because if they die or get injured, what do we do, who will treat patients?" Valery Bovkun, microsurgeon at the hospital asks rhetorically.

 

Older children too ill to be returned to their homes or to leave the capital with their families to escape the Russian invasion, are trying to adjust to life under siege. They are told to stay away from windows. Many lie in corridors on intravenous drips. The entire hospital population; staff, patients, family members, live in a state of perpetual shock at being caught up in a war situation none might have imagined becoming their reality, even a few days previously.

 

They focus on survival.

 

The hospital, as the largest of its kind in Ukraine, cares for up to 600 patients normally, bur at the present time the patient load has been reduced to 200. Surgeons and nurses operate on a 13-year-old boy who was wounded in the armed clashes. Four children up to that time were treated for shrapnel and bullet wounds, as victims of shelling in and around Kyiv, along with skirmishes between Russian and Ukrainian forces. One of those young patients is in critical condition. 

 

Children with cancer hold signs that say “Stop War” in the bomb shelter of an oncology center in Kyiv (Photo by Aris Messinis / AFP)

 

On Monday, air raid sirens wailed through the eerily empty streets of Kyiv, giving warning of another possible missile strike by Russia. In Russian parlance its actions throughout Ukraine represent a "special operation". Maryna, the mother of a child suffering with a blood cancer requiring constant treatment, is on the verge of tears, explaining the situation requiring everyone to hurry down to the dank hospital basement to wait out the strikes.

Somehow the hospital to date has been spared, even as the Russian artillery bombardment has reached the city outskirts. The haphazard sound of gunfire in recent days reminds the staff and other hospital occupants that not much distance separates them from the conflict. Chief surgeon Dr.Zhovnir explains that the hospital had stockpiled sufficient medications to last a month, but that there is a shortage of food for newborns.

He speaks as well of children unable to travel to the hospital when emergency situations erupt. In normal circumstances the hospital treats six to seven children daily for medical issues such as appendicitis. That number has dramatically dropped. "They could not have vanished. they simply cannot come here", he states resignedly.

Children lined the corridors of the basement floor of the shelter of Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital: (Photo: Aytac Unal/Getty)

Will They or Won't They ???!!!

"They tell us February16 will be the day of the attack. We will make it a day of unity."

"They are trying to frighten us by yet another naming [of] a date for the start of military action."

"On that day, we will hang our national flags, wear yellow and blue banners, and show the whole world our unity."

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy 

"It is quite understandable why Ukrainians today are skeptical about various 'specific dates' of the so-called 'start of the invasion' announced in the media."

"When the 'start of the invasion' becomes some sort of rolling tour date, such media announcements can only be taken with irony."

Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to Zelenskiy chief of staff

 

"I won't get into a specific date. I don't think that would be smart."

"I would just tell you that it is entirely possible that he [Russian President Vladimir Putin] could move with little to no warning."

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby

"We have already warned more than once that we will not allow endless negotiations on questions that demand a solution today."

"It seems to me that our possibilities are far from exhausted ... At this stage, I would suggest continuing and building them up."

Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov

Service members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces drive a tank during military exercises in Kharkiv region, Ukraine February 10, 2022. REUTERS/Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy

No end of stern warnings going Moscow's way from Western countries threatening sanctions whose scale would be, purportedly, unprecedented should Russia decide to invade its neighbour. That is an official invasion, not merely the invasion of the ethnic Russian Ukrainian separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk who claim the Donbas and any other part of East Ukraine -- at least for the moment, until they can extend their ambitions -- to be part of Greater Russia.

On Monday the Group of Seven largest economies gave warning of "economic and financial sanctions which will have massive and immediate consequences on the Russian economy". Well, the Kremlin is holding fast. Russian security, first and foremost. For NATO to creep any closer to Russia's borders is quite simply unacceptable. On which account demands have been made which would effectively allow Moscow to take an unofficial yet officious seat on NATO's governing body.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated his belief "from his own analysis, his own hopes" following discussions with the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine, that conflict will not occur, according to to a UN spokesperson. Again and yet again Moscow points out that Ukraine's aspiration to join NATO is perceived by them as an existential threat to Russian stability and security.

All the parties involved in this standoff seem to be following one another in an endless, circuitous, spiralling dance of accusations and blame, denials and threats. The situation has already cost Ukraine dearly in  economic terms for its adamant position on its right as a sovereign nation to form alliances of its choice. The country has seen a surge in its credit default swaps on Ukrainian sovereign bonds in the expectation of the probability of defaulting.

Ukraine's largest airline, Ukraine International Airlines has experienced terminate cover for some of its aircraft on flights in Ukrainian airspace by its insurers. Not exactly a vote of confidence. In the face of which President Zelenskiy has called on his countrymen to sing the national anthem in unison on Wednesday, February 16, the date given by some Western media as the possible start of a Russian invasion.