Russia is preparing a new offensive against Ukraine that could begin in early summer, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday.
Ukraine denied it is at the weakest point in the war since Russia almost captured Kyiv nearly two years, telling NBC that this is the most difficult time in terms of unity.
“I don’t think that now it’s the weakest moment,” Zelenskyy told NBC Sunday, a day after the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“The weakest, or rather, [the most] shocking moment was on February 24, two years ago. Now is the hardest moment for our unity. If we all split, both externally with the partners, and God forbid, internally, then it would be the weakest moment. It hasn’t happened yet,” Zelenskyy said during a news conference in Kyiv Sunday. He said 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since Russia’s invasion two years ago.
Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny was close to being freed in a prisoner swap at the time of his death, Maria Pevchikh, a Navalny ally, said on Monday.
Speaking on YouTube, Pevchikh — who alleges the Russian authorities murdered Navalny, something they deny — said Navalny and two U.S. nationals were in line to be exchanged for Vadim Krasikov, a Russian FSB security service hit man who is serving a life sentence in Germany.
Ukraine’s military confirmed Monday the retreat from the village of Lastochkyne in eastern Ukraine, marking another setback on the battlefield two years into the war.
“Ukrainian Armed Forces units withdrew from the village of Lastochkyne in order to organise defences... and prevent the enemy from advancing further in a western direction,” military spokesperson Dmytro Lykhoviy said on television, Reuters reported.
Russian forces have made several major and minor advances in recent weeks, including the capture of the industrial city of Avdiivka, as well as a couple of smaller settlements to the west of the city.
The Kremlin said on Monday that a decision by Denmark to drop its investigation into the 2022 Nord Stream 2 pipeline explosions was “close to absurdity.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Denmark had recognised that the blasts had been an act of premeditated sabotage, but had decided not to go further with the investigation anyway because the case involved Copenhagen’s close allies.
He said Denmark had refused requests to provide information about its investigation.
— Reuters
France to host Ukraine summit on Monday
French President Emmanuel Macron will host more than 20 heads of state and government representatives for a meeting on Ukraine in Paris on Monday.
“Two years after the start of the invasion of Ukraine, the participants will reaffirm their unity and their determination to defeat the war of aggression led by Russia in Ukraine,” the Elysee Palace said in a statement Monday.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, U.K. Foreign Minister David Cameron and Polish President Andrzej Duda will be among officials attending the conference. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address the conference via videolink.
“This conference will be an opportunity to share observations of the situation on the ground, the profound destabilization caused by Russia and its renewed aggressiveness against Ukraine and against Europe,” it added.
The meeting is an opportunity to study the means available to respond ever more quickly and efficiently to the needs of Ukraine and its people, the president’s office said.
An unnamed French presidential official was quoted by news outlet France 24 as saying that the meeting was designed to contradict any “impression that things are falling apart” after Ukraine’s recent challenges on the battlefield.
On Friday, the eve of the second anniversary of the war, Macron commented that Ukraine was “battered and bruised, but still standing.”
“Ukraine is fighting for itself, for its ideals, for our Europe. Our commitment at its side will not waver,” Macron wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
— Holly Ellyatt
China firmly opposes the United States imposing sanctions on Chinese enterprises for Russia-related reasons, the Chinese commerce ministry said on Monday.
China will take necessary measures to firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, the ministry said in a statement on its website.
The Biden administration on Friday announced new trade restrictions on 93 entities from Russia, China, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Kyrgyzstan, India and South Korea for supporting Russia’s war effort in Ukraine.
The action, one day before the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, essentially bans U.S. shipments to the targeted entities, including eight from China, 63 from Russia, 16 from Turkey and four from the UAE.
— Reuters
Russia is preparing a new offensive against against Ukraine, Zelenskyy says
Russia is preparing a new offensive against Ukraine that could begin in late May or summer, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday, denying that his country is at its weakest point in the war.
“We will prepare for their assault. Their assault that began on Oct. 8 has not brought any results, I believe. We, for our part, will prepare our plan and follow it,” Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv, Reuters reported.
He denied Ukraine is at the weakest point in the war, instead telling NBC that this is the most difficult time for unity.
“I don’t think that now it’s the weakest moment,” he said. “The weakest, or rather, [the most] shocking moment was on February 24, two years ago. Now is the hardest moment for our unity. If we all split, both externally with the partners, and God forbid, internally, then it would be the weakest moment. It hasn’t happened yet,” Zelenskyy told NBC’s Richard Engel at a news conference Sunday.
Zelenskyy said events in the Middle East had distracted attention from Ukraine, noting that this had coincided with the end of Ukraine’s summer counteroffensive and Russia beginning offensive operations.
“Now we just see the consequences, when we are weakened by the quantity of weapons. Otherwise we wouldn’t notice it ... The aid package has weakened — we have weakened on the battlefield, in those directions that you mentioned,” Zelenskyy said.
He said the first year of the war was about survival, the second year about resilience, and as Russia and Ukraine enter a third year of war, the country faces challenges in the form of elections, war and funding fatigue.
— Holly Ellyatt
.jpeg)
0 Comments