Geopolitical situation
Yesterday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron met for about three hours at the Elysee Palace. The Ukrainian leader arrived in Paris from Germany on a French government plane, extending his European tour with several stops.
With Ukraine attacking occupying forces in the east of the country and hoping to regain Crimea, annexed by Russia, military aid was high on the agenda. Macron's office said France would supply dozens of light tanks and armoured vehicles "in the coming weeks", but did not give a specific number. More air defence systems were also promised, but again no details were made public.
In a statement, France described its support for Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity as "unwavering" and pledged that its political, economic, humanitarian and military assistance would be provided "to the extent necessary".
Upon arrival, Mr Zelensky tweeted: "With each visit, Ukraine's defensive and offensive capabilities expand. Ties with Europe are getting stronger and pressure on Russia is increasing".
The Ukrainian President said that the aim would be to liberate the Russian-occupied territories within Ukraine's internationally recognised borders and not to attack Russian territory. According to "intelligence", Zelensky has previously reportedly considered trying to seize territories in Russia itself to use as a bargaining chip in peace talks. When asked directly about such alleged plans, Mr Zelensky said: "We are not attacking Russian territory, we are liberating our legitimate territory. We have neither the time nor the energy. Nor do we have additional weapons with which to do so".
Of course, even if there were plans to take Belgorod or any other tactically important stronghold on Russian territory, we will only get confirmation of this after the war is over, when Russia has already paid huge reparations. From the very first moments of the invasion, we have taken the position that, in order to successfully stop and then defeat the terrorist hordes from the east, it is necessary to strike at strategic targets deep inside Russia. When the cruise missiles hit the military units near Moscow, the production lines for weapons and heavy equipment, when the Moscow man runs to the basement to get rid of his trousers, which are cramped with fear, with the sound of air raid sirens, then we will be able to talk about real 'negotiating leverage'.
In the West German city of Aachen, Mr Zelensky was also awarded the prestigious international Charlemagne Prize, dedicated to him and to the Ukrainian people. In her congratulatory speech, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen compared the war in Ukraine to the fall of the Iron Curtain more than 30 years ago. "There comes a moment in every generation when it has to stand up for democracy and what it believes in", she said. "For us, that moment has come."
If by "us" Ursula meant Ukraine, which will join the EU tomorrow, we are very happy about that. Unfortunately, as realists, we have to see that the EU's understanding of "we" is little different from the thinking of the Driskshiki in a bunker across the Urals. When Ukraine defends the West with its own blood against the brutalised marauders, then we say that we are defending 'we'. When we talk about union and admission to the European family, we say that we will support Ukraine 'as much as it takes'.
And no, this is not criticism, not sarcasm, not anger, not anything else that puts us on the 'us and them' shelf. This is a reality, a statement of fact.
Significant impulses
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a major new package of military aid to Ukraine. It is worth a total of €2.7 billion. He stressed that Berlin would provide Ukraine with humanitarian, political, financial and armaments support for as long as it was needed.
"Your visit to Berlin sends a powerful signal, Mr Volodymyr Zelenski. Russia's brutal war of invasion against your country has been going on for 444 days... We are not weakening our support: Germany is providing a new €2.7 billion military aid package, including Leopard-1 battle tanks, Marder MBTs and Iris-T air defence systems," Scholz tweeted.
"Our units have today captured more than ten enemy positions in the northern and southern part of Bakhmut and cleared a large forest area near Ivanivske. Enemy soldiers from various units have been captured," Anna Malyar, Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Defence, reported on her Telegram channel.
She added that those who know the real situation and are on the ground now understand the gravity of the situation. "This is when one metre is worth 10 km in terms of the complexity of the tasks. Our people are operating at the limit of superhuman capabilities. They are acting with strength, determination and professionalism," she wrote.
So-called Russian regular troops have launched an offensive north-east of Kupyansk and within the borders of Kupyansk-Svatovo. The occupiers launched unsuccessful attacks at the eastern edge of the villages of Masjutovka (12 km north-east of Kupyanka), Sinkivka (8 km north-east of Kupyanka), Novoselovskoye (14 km north-west of Svatov) and Stelmakhovka (15 km north-west of Svatov). Clashes are also taking place 13 km north-west of Svatovo.
There are indications that the Russian 1st Tank Army is retreating from Novoselovskoye.
We believe that these manoeuvres are aimed at partially withdrawing the Ukrainian forces involved in the counter-attack near Bakhmut in order to allow the Russo-Fascists to relieve the critical remnants of their forces to the north-west and north of Bakhmut.
Briefly
China on Monday sentenced a 78-year-old United States citizen to life imprisonment on espionage charges. John Shing-Wan Leung, a resident of Hong Kong, was detained by a counter-intelligence agency in the south-eastern city of Suzhou on 15 April 2021.
For the first time, the United Nations will officially commemorate the 75th anniversary of the exodus of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from present-day Israel. The exodus began when the United Nations divided British-ruled Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states. Palestinians call it the "nakba" or "catastrophe".
Prigozhin, the apartment thief and Vagner commander, allegedly betrayed yesterday that four Russian military aircraft in the Briansk area may have been shot down by Russian forces themselves. The Kremlin terrorists refused to comment on reports from Russian soctinks that two fighter jets, Su-34 and Su-35, and two Mi-8 helicopters had "crashed" in the Briansk area on Saturday.
US fighter jets intercepted six Russian aircraft flying in international airspace near Alaska, the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) said on Sunday. The Russian aircraft included TU-95 bombers, an IL-78 refueller and SU-35 fighters, NORAD said in a written statement.
Neither Erdogan nor Kilicdaroglu crossed the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff election on 28 May. President Erdogan edged out opposition rival Kilicdaroglu in Sunday's election, but fell short of the absolute majority needed to prolong his 20-year rule of the NATO member state.
The war crimes ministry of terrorist Russia reported the death of two of its top military commanders in eastern Ukraine. The commander of the 4th motorised rifle brigade, Vyacheslav Makarov, and the deputy commander of a separate unit, Colonel Yevgeny Brovko, were killed while trying to repel Ukrainian attacks near Bakhmut.
A beautiful dance while trampling a kalinka with Kobzon, driskis.
Mikhail Podoliak, adviser to the head of the Ukrainian President's Office, says that the operation in Bakhmut will be the start of a major Ukrainian counter-offensive. Ukraine has taken the initiative in Bakhmut, but "this does not mean that the city will be liberated tomorrow, but that heavy fighting will continue and that the Russian combat forces will continue to be destroyed".
"In a broad sense, Bakhmut is a prelude to a counter-offensive. It is a door that opens the door to a successful counter-offensive for Ukraine," Podoliak said.
Lithuania
A journalist in our village is dancing with ministers and politicians of other ranks and backgrounds.
In trembling voices, like first-graders at a blackboard, the bleary-eyed serfs explain to the gentleman where and how they have spent taxpayers' money.
- Show them where and what you have spent it on, or else it is clear! - the representative of the other, fourth power, pushes the sinful and not-so-officials as hard as a prosecutor.
- So, by golly, according to the letter of the law, the pilots of the portfolios who have joined the civil service are in charge.
And we, covered in crackers and cola, are not short of joy: there is a real transparency fiesta in Lithuania. Finally, those who have learned to add two to two and can hide all the ends will come to power in our country too.
Pictured here, are smart Ukrainians at Bakhmut.
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