Geopolitical situation
The European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said on Monday that he believes Russia will not be willing to negotiate while it is still trying to win the war in Ukraine. He added that he was "not optimistic" about what might happen in the war this summer.
"I see a concentration of troops on both sides, a clear desire on Russia's part to try to win the war," Borrell said at an event in Barcelona. He said that Russia has repeatedly signalled that it will not stop the campaign until its military objectives are achieved.
"I fear that between now and the summer the war will continue. Putin has more than 300,000 men there, twice as many as he had at the start of the invasion", the EU diplomatic chief told reporters after the event. He stressed that Russia's military presence in Ukraine is "enormous" and that it is still bombing Ukraine on a daily basis and destroying civilian infrastructure.
"I'm afraid they are doing this without a plan. We have to be ready and that means we have to continue to help Ukraine because if we don't, Ukraine will not be able to defend itself", Borrell argued.
More and more leaders in the West seem to be coming to their senses, and while it may be a cold shower for some, it is better to have a cold shower now than a catastrophe in Ukraine in the autumn. The constant talk of peace and ceasefire, pressing Ukraine to recognise some of its annexed territories but stopping the bloodshed, is both infantile and deadly. For the Ukrainians, for us, for the Baltic countries and for Taiwan.
The Kyiv peace plan is the only way to end Russia's war in Ukraine, and Ukraine is not interested in a ceasefire that would capture Russia's territorial gains, said Mr Zhovka, a senior adviser to President Zelensky. The first point of this peace plan provides for the withdrawal of Russian troops from all occupied territories. "There can be no Brazilian peace plan, no Chinese peace plan, no South African peace plan when it comes to the war in Ukraine", Zhovkva stressed, bearing in mind that all these countries' so-called peace plans require recognition of Russian annexed territories before they can come to the negotiating table.
This month, Mr Zelensky has taken active steps to influence the southern countries of the world in response to the supposed peace moves of some of their members. On 19 May, he attended the Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and delegations from Iraq and other countries, and later met Indian and Indonesian leaders in Hiroshima.
While the West strongly supports Kiev, Latin America, Africa and much of Asia are neutral or inactive supporters of terrorist Russia, which has been investing its diplomatic and fossil energy in these parts of the world for years.
Significant developments
The Russian War Crimes Ministry ordered the daytime bombing of Kiev. The air strikes began early Monday morning and continued in waves throughout the day. Russian terrorists used cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and drones to attack airstrips, command posts, radars, aircraft, ammunition depots, civilian infrastructure and other targets across Ukraine that may be linked to Western aid supplies. In Kyiv, a 27-year-old woman was injured and falling debris caused a fire in a private house in the Darnitsky district. Three cars caught fire in the Pechersky district.
In addition, the Russo-fascists struck the Khmelnitsky military airport, where the Ukrainian defenders have deployed MiG-29 fighter jets. The Ukrainian side admitted that at least 5 aircraft were damaged.
In Toretsk, two people were killed and eight others wounded after the Russian attack.
The air strikes have intensified, probably because Russia is trying to halt a planned Ukrainian offensive along the front line in the east. In addition, "with these continuous attacks, the enemy is trying to maintain a deep psychological tension among the civilian population", said Serhiy Popko, head of the military administration in Kyiv.
It is possible that the Russian-fascists are using missile and drone attacks to cover the redeployment of their units, reinforcing their defensive fortifications and capabilities in the occupied territories. "The enemy is bringing airborne and motorised rifle units into Bakhmut," said Serhiy Cherevaty, spokesman for the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the East. "Yes, there is rotational activity there, primarily due to the heavy losses of the criminal group Wagner. They are forced to do it. Units of the occupying airborne troops and motorised rifle units arrive. We know their names, their commanders and their combat potential", he said.
Unfortunately, all the cheering and jubilation about the supposed "counter-offensive" and the Russians fleeing the battlefield is just another psychological operation. In case anyone has not yet understood, let us say it again - the war criminals in the Kremlin have no intention of giving up. For them, defeat means the end of everything, and they have little desire to end themselves.
Briefly
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced that the Russian capital was attacked by a drone on Tuesday morning. Sobyanin said in a Telegram message that the attack caused "minor damage" to several buildings and that "no one was seriously hurt", but did not explain what this meant. Residents of two buildings damaged in the attack were evacuated, Sobyanin wrote.
The NATO-led peacekeeping force said on Monday that 25 of its troops were wounded in clashes with ethnic Serbs in the north of Kosovo when they tried to take over the offices of one of the municipalities where ethnic Albanian mayors took office last week. Serbs clashed with NATO troops and Kosovo police in the municipality of Zvecan, 45 km north of the capital. According to witnesses, troops used tear gas and sound-flash grenades to protect Kosovo officials and disperse protesters. The Serbs who gathered responded by throwing stones and other hard objects at them.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who secured a strong new mandate in the second round of presidential elections, may soften some of the positions that have annoyed his NATO allies. But analysts predict that the country's long-time dictator is unlikely to deviate from his policy of maximising the benefits of his ties with both Russia and the West.
On Monday, the Russian Interior Ministry issued an arrest warrant for US Senator Lindsey Graham over comments he made about the war in Ukraine. In a videotaped meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, made public by Zelensky's office, Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, noted that "the Russians are dying" and called US military aid to the country "the best money we have ever spent".
An aide to Ukraine's president said on Monday that a demilitarised zone of 100-120 km (62-75 miles) on Russia's border with Ukraine should be established in order to reach a post-war agreement. This zone would be needed to protect Ukrainian regions from Russian attacks, presidential aide Mikhail Podoliak wrote on Twitter. "The main topic of the post-war settlement should be the establishment of protective measures to prevent future aggression", he noted.
A more sustainable peace would certainly be ensured if this demilitarised zone was effectively protected by NATO peacekeepers.
Lithuania
As the scandal of councillors' allowances simmers in the countryside and the real or simulated government crisis deepens, shrewd businessmen and "entrepreneurs" are rushing to exploit the situation.
Here is the government buying public services for nearly two million to cover the NATO summit broadcasts from a public body with only 12 employees. It is a good thing that it is not from a supposed competitor, which has one employee.
Everything is legal and transparent - the public body is not a for-profit enterprise, and all taxpayers' money will be used fairly here to ensure a quality service. The scheme is very simple: the MoL (MoFA) - the public body (intermediary) - the service providers.
And who is the intermediary for, you ask. We answer: for transparency. And although there is no logic here, it is all in accordance with the Public Procurement Law.
Other cunning people are rushing to push through the possibility of night sights for hunters. The Committee on the Environment in the Seimas, which is supposed to protect all those animals in the woods for all of us, votes happily in favour.
What the heck, we have been protected three times over. From the proposals of Comrade Bradauskas in the past. But this time it is different, this time it is the 'terrible Russian threat', which only hunters can counter. Neither the hunters themselves nor the conclusions of defence experts are of any help here. The logic here is also very simple: only with night sights will hunters easily hunt down any enemy that invades the country.
In that case, we propose that grenades should also be legal - if you are going to hunt, then hunt with a bang!
Pictured here is a soldier of the Azov Brigade during an exercise.
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