WESTERN leaders descended on Kiev at the weekend to pledge continued support on the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion.

The prime ministers of Italy, Belgium and Canada and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen laid flowers at a display showing images of Ukrainian war dead. Italy’s Giorgia Meloni later chaired a G7 video conference from the city, which issued a joint statement agreeing tighter sanctions on Russia and assistance for Ukraine for “as long as it takes.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared: “We will win this war together,” in a speech referring to Kiev’s resistance to the Russian assault of two years ago, when the city was surrounded by Russian troops but held out until they retreated.

He welcomed Italian promises of long-range weaponry but promised Western weapons would not be used to strike inside Russia, a sign of pressure from allies worried about being dragged into the war directly. 

Russia occupies about a fifth of Ukraine’s territory and recently celebrated the capture of Avdiivka, seen as key to completing the conquest of the annexed Donbass regions Donetsk and Lugansk. 

Moscow staged a fireworks display on Friday to mark Defender of the Fatherland Day — as Red Army Day was renamed following the 1990s counter-revolution — capping a week of militarist tub-thumping that included President Vladimir Putin co-piloting a Tupolev 160-M strategic nuclear bomber.

A new exhibition entitled Russia has been opened in the capital, with exhibits showcasing the different regions of the huge country, pointedly including the four territories annexed from Ukraine. Its Donetsk feature includes a tour of a simulated coalmine led by a woman from the region describing its escape from Ukrainian oppression.