Geopolitical situation
For the first time since the start of the war, the Chinese leader listened to Emanuel, the virtuoso of phone calls, and telephoned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Mr Zelensky announced this on the social network Twitter, noting that the conversation was long.
Mr Zelensky confirmed that Ukraine's position on the "One China" policy remains unchanged and thanked the President of the People's Republic of China for China's support for Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity and for its humanitarian assistance.
The President of Ukraine stressed that while honouring the memory of the victims of the Chernobyl accident, the worst man-made disaster in human history, everything must be done to prevent a bigger disaster from happening at the Zaporizhzhya NPP.
Mr Zelensky informed Mr Xi that the situation on the frontline is difficult, but that Ukraine has no choice but to restore its sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders of 1991, including Crimea. The Ukrainian President also stated that any support from the Kremlin is converted into support for the war in Ukraine.
Beijing claims that Xi Jinping has advocated dialogue and negotiations as the only way to end the war in Ukraine. "China will neither watch the fire from the other side nor add fuel to the fire, let alone seize the opportunity to profit. Dialogue and negotiations are the only viable way out," Xi said.
This is an important event on the geopolitical chessboard. Beijing is floundering, one day showing restrained support for Moscow, the next fearing Western sanctions, a US response and an economic downturn. The questioning of the sovereignty of the Baltic States by a member of Beijing's diplomatic corps was a blatant attempt to endorse Moscow's plans to redivide the world into spheres of influence. Meanwhile, the call to Kiev represents Beijing's attempt to find a way out of the stalemate of the war in Ukraine.
We are convinced that Beijing is not doing this out of goodwill or following the teachings of Confucius. The Party's behemoths are aware that the global economic recession caused by Russia will eventually affect China too, putting the brakes on the planned post-Mediterranean economic growth. We hope that the Chinese Communists are not yet finally hooked, that they know how to calculate, and that the figures show a fat downside looming.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping has agreed to send his special envoys to Ukraine and other countries to communicate "with all sides" on a political solution to the "crisis in Ukraine", Bloomberg reports, citing a Chinese state agency.
China continues to play peacemaker in the Russia-Ukraine war, avoiding calling terrorist Russia the aggressor country, and Chinese diplomats have repeatedly been involved in international scandals by repeating the Kremlin's narratives about Ukraine and other Western countries, including Lithuania.
According to Western intelligence, the PRC is already aiding the Putin regime, in particular by supplying the occupiers with uniforms and bullet-proof vests. Russia is negotiating with China for the supply of ZT-180 kamikaze drones.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Terror Affairs notes "the readiness of the Chinese side to make efforts to start the negotiation process", said Maria Zakharova, Putin's panagia cleaner.
What a nice synchronised move, changing each other's nappies while awaiting a crushing attack by Ukraine, suddenly letting out the laxatives.
Significant developments
Ukrainian forces are reported to have advanced to the southern coast of the Kherson region, which is washed by the Dnieper river. The Russians are not well prepared to defend this front line, and the Ukrainians are gaining the upper hand here, using small US boats and heavy artillery attacks.
We believe, however, that Ukraine's main fist will hit Drisky in the beard elsewhere.
The Kremlin's long-term plans to force the Ukrainian leadership to negotiate remain unchanged. The Russians are not abandoning their plans to occupy important centres in the Donetsk region. Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Maryinka remain the main targets.
It is said that there are currently around 48 brigades and up to 370 000 so-called Russian troops fighting against Ukraine. This is almost double the number at the start of the invasion.
Putin's chef Prigozhin says that Ukraine is preparing for an "imminent" counter-attack and warns that his mercenary forces do not have enough ammunition. The recidivist blames the Kremlin for this. In an audio message posted on his Telegram channel, Prigozhin, an apartment thief, claims that his troops are not receiving ammunition shipments from the Russian Ministry of Defence and are suffering five times more losses as a result.
Officials in Kyiv say Ukrainian forces are still holding out in the western part of the city and describe the fighting there as "extremely hot".
"Wagner's Meat is the least costly military formation for the Kremlin. The use of prisoners and old equipment in the war is an old part of the strategy of Moscow's barbarian chieftains.
Briefly
Germany and Britain have intercepted three Russian military aircraft over the Baltic Sea, the German Air Force said yesterday. "The intercepted flights were reconnaissance flights. German and British Eurofighter jets were sent to identify the three military aircraft," the Luftwaffe tweeted.
Two SU-27 Flankers and an IL-20 from Russia again flew without transponder signals in international airspace over the Baltic Sea, the report said.
Earlier this month, the United Kingdom took over the NATO military alliance's Baltic police mission from Germany. The three Baltic countries - Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia - do not have their own fighter aircraft.
On Tuesday, the Royal Norwegian Air Force escorted a group of Russian jets in international airspace over the Barents Sea in the Arctic.
Moscow continues to try to flex its muscles within its imaginary spheres of interest, believing that we will be scared of losers who have been unable to occupy a small Ukrainian town for nine months.
Lithuania
Yesterday, the newly elected politicians and leaders of Vilnius took the oath of office. All took an oath to serve the country.
The State, which is all of us, is the managers and employers of the city leaders.
But let us think carefully about whether we ourselves would accept a responsible job as mayor or vice-mayor, especially when the latter's salary is EUR 1 500 per hand. One and a half times the planned minimum.
Plastering walls or welding silencers today pays much more.
Therefore, before we start to resent the fact that someone is not competent or is not capable of doing something, let us take stock of the reality in which we live. Either 'abnormal' patriots or 'businessmen' who want to get away with it are in positions of political responsibility that determine strategic decisions.
The "abnormal" patriots are, so far, a minority by comparison.
In this photo, workers at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant lay flowers at a memorial to the victims of the Chernobyl tragedy during a commemoration ceremony in Chernobyl, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 26, 2023 (AP Photo/Wladyslaw Musiienko)
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