Ukraine's defences under strain as war enters its third year

KYIV: Ukraine marks the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion on Saturday looking more vulnerable than at any time since the early days of Europe's most deadly conflict since World War Two.

The former Soviet republic's 40 million people defied expectations - and the Kremlin's best-laid plans - by repelling a much larger enemy and preventing outright defeat in the days and weeks after Russian tanks and soldiers rolled towards Kyiv.

But as the war enters its third year, international aid and military supplies have slowed, impacting the battlefield where Kyiv's summer counteroffensive floundered and Moscow is grinding out territorial gains.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy still has plenty of friends. On Saturday he welcomes Western leaders to discuss security guarantees, sanctions against Russia and other pressing issues.

U.S. President Joe Biden remains a staunch ally, although $61 billion in aid is being held up by political bickering in Washington.

Looking to the end of 2024, U.S. elections could bring a change in president and in policy towards Ukraine and its war with Russia, clouding the outlook for the coming years.

During a trip to the United States in November, Zelenskiy invited Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump - a vocal critic of U.S. support for Kyiv - to Ukraine to see for himself the damage wrought by Russia's war.

Zelenskiy also told U.S. politicians that Russia, led by President Vladimir Putin, may not stop at Ukraine's borders if it emerges victorious.

Putin dismisses such claims as nonsense. He casts the war as a wider struggle with the United States, which the Kremlin elite says aims to cleave Russia apart. The West sees the invasion as an unjustified act of aggression that must be repelled.