100 days after the Russian invasion, Ukraine remains united in its purpose of expelling Putin's forces

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KHARKIV, Ukraine — Now that Russia's invasion of Ukraine has reached its 100th day with no clear end in sight, Ukrainians seem more determined than ever to reclaim every lost inch of their battered land.

From officials in Kiev, the capital, to residents of Kharkiv, the second largest city, the message is clear:

In conversations with people in the Kharkiv region, just a few kilometers from the Russian border, many expressed frustration and anger at recent suggestions that their country should consider ceding some of the territory currently under occupation in order to reach a settlement agreement. cease fire and thereby prevent the war from dragging on indefinitely.

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Kremlin forces are advancing in the east and now control 20% of Ukraine's territory, according to President Volodomyr Zelenskyy, while their Western allies have shown wavering support.

This combination of photos shows Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy giving 100 speeches from the start of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022 to June 3, 2022.AP

However, Ukrainian public opinion illustrates how difficult it could be to reach an acceptable diplomatic resolution with Russia.

“Of course, we want peace, but we also want our territories back,” said Anna Ockmanko, 57, whose house in a small town on the outskirts of Kharkiv was destroyed when Russian forces invaded.

"If not, then what are we suffering for?"

Anna Ockmanko Mariia Vovk

Olena Ruban, 53, said giving up territory for peace "shouldn't even be up for discussion."

“We will fight to the end.

I will take a weapon and fight with myself if necessary, ”she assured, while cleaning her house of the rubble left by the Russian forces when they occupied the region.

Ukrainian troops drove them out last month in a successful counterattack on the outskirts of Kharkiv.

"I understand even more clearly now that compromise is not an option," he said.

"We still believe in victory."

As the death toll mounts, oil prices soar and fears of global food shortages mount, some Western officials have recently suggested

Olena Ruban.Mariia Vovk

Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said kyiv should accept the cession of territory to end the invasion, while Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi called for a ceasefire in Ukraine "as soon as possible."

The editorial board of the New York Times argued in a recent article that Ukraine would have to face "painful territorial decisions."

Ukrainian officials have criticized the idea

.

Zelenskyy compared the suggestion to the 1938 Munich Pact, a failed European attempt to appease Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler by ceding the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia to Germany.

In a video message posted online, Oleksiy Arestovych, Zelenskyy's adviser, said that "no one is going to exchange an ounce of our sovereignty or a millimeter of our territory."

“Our children are dying, soldiers are being torn apart by shells and they tell us to sacrifice territory.

Forget about it.

It's never going to happen,” he added.

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Since the war began on February 24, Ukrainian forces have successfully expelled Russia from the territory around the capital, as well as from Kharkiv in the northeast.

But Russia controls the strategically important cities of Kherson and Mariupol in the south, and is gaining ground in the eastern provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk, which together make up the Donbas region.

Moscow may not be far from creating a much-desired land corridor to Crimea, which it invaded and annexed in 2014.

Zelenskyy has acknowledged that

In a television address last month, he said the war "will be bloody, there will be fighting, but it will only end definitively through diplomacy."

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But peace talks have stalled and Ukrainian public opinion could continue to harden as accusations of Russian atrocities mount.

A recent survey by the kyiv International Institute of Sociology found that 82% of Ukrainian adults believe that "territorial concessions should not be allowed" to reach a peace agreement, compared to 10% who think some should be made. territorial concessions.

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"Russia wants to establish its control over the whole of Ukraine, and the Ukrainians do not want this," said Anton Grushetskyi, deputy director of the institute.

"When some politicians, experts in the West try to pressure Ukraine in this very complicated situation to give up some territory, they must understand that these are not the true intentions of the population."

The Kremlin appears determined to exert long-term control over the areas it has occupied, but Zelenskyy has said any peace deal would require Russia to roll back to its pre-invasion positions.

But some Ukrainians believe that this is not enough

.

OlenaMariia Vovk

Olena, 59, who asked not to use her last name for fear Russian troops could identify her son who is serving in the Ukrainian army, said Russia's brief occupation of her city changed her views on Crimea and other parts of the country's east that have been under the control of Moscow-backed separatists since 2014. Any peace deal must also include those territories, he said. Serhii, 55, who also asked not to use his last name for fear that Russian troops could return to the region and identify him, he said the Ukrainians had a clear vision of Russian President Vladimir Putin's plan to "conquer all of Ukraine."

"The only option is to get everything back," he said.

"But we also have to accept that that may not happen soon."