Tag: ukraine president volodymyr zelensky

  • Putin’s vertical of energy crumbling: Ukraine Prez Zelensky after Wagner mutiny

    By India Today News Desk: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin’s dealing with of the Wagner Group mutiny, describing it as “weak” and suggesting that Putin is steadily dropping management over his personal residents.

    In his interview with CNN, Volodymyr Zelensky additionally stated that the Russian president is dropping management of his personal males.

    Volodymyr Zelensky, underneath whom the Ukrainian folks have been braving Russian aggression, stated that Vladimir Putin doesn’t have any management over the state of affairs within the area because the Wagner group moved deep inside Russian territory.

    He additionally stated that the ‘vertical of energy’ Putin had is crumbling.

    Earlier, social media had been filled with movies the place Russian folks had been seen cheering the fighters of the Wagner Group fighters throughout the 24-hour-long mutiny.

    The Russian folks additionally cheered at Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s automobile because it departed Rostov-on-Don on June 24.

    According to Ukrainian President Zelensky, intelligence reviews from the nation’s spy companies highlighted that the Kremlin measured assist for Prigozhin, claiming that half of the nation supported the revolt of the Wagner Group.

    However, Russia escaped a serious embarrassment as Wagner’s chief known as off the revolt only a hundred kilometres earlier than Moscow.

    In a video message posted days after the riot, the Wagner chief had stated that his fighters didn’t wish to overthrow the Russian authorities.

    In the interview, the Ukrainian president additionally highlighted that the Wagner Group mutiny had forged aspersions on Putin’s management and his management over the state of affairs in Russia.

    On Monday, the Kremlin – the Russian citadel – stated that every one authorities companies, together with intelligence companies, had been working in line with their mandate.

    However, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesperson, refused to touch upon questions concerning the failure of Russian companies to regulate the revolt earlier than it began brewing.

    Zelensky’s remarks come amid Ukrainian efforts to recapture territory occupied by the Russian forces. Recently, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief Bill Burns additionally visited Ukraine and met the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, together with intelligence officers.

  • Ukraine-Russia conflict: What may very well be a manner out?

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared his aim of “neutralisation and disarmament of Ukraine,” however Ukrainian forces proceed to wage a surprisingly profitable resistance to the invasion.

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    On Friday, in a one-hour cellphone name, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged Vladimir Putin to halt navy motion and begin negotiating. This follows related initiatives by French President Emmanuel Macron and different Western leaders.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy indicated a readiness for direct talks with Vladimir Putin. But such a situation appears unlikely. In the previous, Putin has aimed vitriol on the Ukrainian management and indicated an curiosity in negotiating immediately solely with US President Joe Biden.

    “I am deeply convinced that sooner or later we will come to an agreement between Ukraine and Russia, probably also between Russia and the West,” Marcel Röthig, head of the German Friedrich Ebert Foundation’s workplace in Kyiv, instructed DW. “Every war comes to an end, and usually it comes to an end with an agreement following negotiations,” he stated, talking from Germany.

    Who may convey Putin to the negotiating desk? Röthig stated that such talks may very well be mediated by very totally different actors, starting from Israel, Turkey, or Finland to the United Nations or a particular advisor from the EU.

    China could emerge as a mediator, he believes, as Beijing may wield some affect over Putin. “China doesn’t have an interest in a destabilised Europe and destabilised markets. And they are the last remaining big economic partner for Russia, so Putin desperately needs Chinese support.”

    But up to now, Putin doesn’t appear to be keen on top-level talks in any respect. “I fear that he has not yet seen enough casualties to allow for his war aims to change,” stated Gustav Gressel, a senior coverage fellow on the Berlin workplace of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).

    Could Russia’s navy be defeated?

    But if the Russian troops proceed to seek out it laborious to get the higher hand, Gressel instructed DW, strain on Putin could mount. If the Ukrainian troops can maintain out “for another week or so we’ll see whether Putin will agree to one of the many ideas for a compromise that there are,” he stated.

    But is it completely unthinkable that the Russians must retreat? “Never underestimate the Ukrainians,” Gressel stated. “They have learned a lot since 2014. It is a combat-proven army and they are very much determined to fight for the survival of their country.”

    If the Ukrainian forces proceed to inflict heavy losses on the invaders, Putin is perhaps pressured to withdraw. “We should remember Stalin”, stated Gressel. “He was not somebody who had high regard for human lives, and he gave up on Finland after 40 days. It was considered too much damage for the Soviet Union as a great power being embarrassed by not being able to conquer Finland quickly.”

    A pair says goodbye earlier than she boards on a practice sure for Lviv on the Kyiv station, Ukraine, Thursday, March 3. 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

    Sanctions and a potential financial collapse of Russia may grow to be one other issue forcing Putin to rethink his targets. If he misplaced the help of a part of the nation’s elite or if an anti-war motion gained momentum regardless of repressive measures, he may also be inclined to withdraw his troops.

    Reports of a Russian assault on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactor on Friday despatched shockwaves throughout Europe. German opposition chief Friedrich Merz, from the center-right Christian Democrats, instructed German public broadcaster NDR {that a} focused Russian assault on nuclear energy vegetation would endanger all of Europe and will represent a purpose for NATO to become involved as a matter of self-defense. But Chancellor Olaf Scholz dominated out any involvement, saying it was “completely clear that NATO and its member states will not take part in the war.”

    Ukrainian President Zelenskyy appealed once more to the West to implement a no-fly zone over his nation. Yet NATO members have repeatedly dominated this out, saying that the mutual protection bloc would solely become involved if Russia have been to assault certainly one of its members.

    “Everyone knows where that would lead us. It would lead to the fact that NATO military would get into direct combat activities with the Russian army. That would lead us into an escalation that none of us would ever want because it’s basically the path to the Third World War.” In such a confrontation, even a nuclear doomsday situation may unfold.

    Territorial bargaining chips

    So if Russia has issues bringing all of Ukraine beneath its management and Ukrainian forces are additionally unable to drive the Russians out — what may very well be a compromise?

    One may very well be the settlement to create a federal Ukraine, with particular standing for the Donetsk and Luhansk areas which have partly been beneath the management of Russia-backed separatists since 2014.

    “It might also be that Ukraine is ready to give away part of its territory, like the Donetsk and Luhansk regions or Crimea,” stated Röthig. But this could compromise Ukraine’s territorial integrity and can be laborious for Kyiv to simply accept.

    Ukraine’s neutrality is perhaps one other choice to placed on the desk. But once more, Ukraine must concede primary ideas. “I would assume that Ukraine would have to withdraw its NATO ambitions, remove the aim of joining NATO in the future from its constitution,” Röthig stated.

    And if Ukraine have been to make concessions far-reaching sufficient for Putin to simply accept — would the Ukrainian individuals settle for them too? “The good thing is that Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has a kind of nimbus at the moment, he has a very high rate of public support,” stated Röthig. “That is why he is now able to sell a compromise to the Ukrainian people.”

    But Röthig factors to European historical past and urges warning. After World War I (1914-1918), defeated Germany felt deeply wronged and humiliated by the provisions for peace set out within the Treaty of Versailles.

    If the nation’s leaders have been to concede an excessive amount of, Röthig says, Ukrainian fighters may really feel stabbed within the again and refuse to stick to the result of any settlement.

    “Ukrainians at the moment have the feeling they could win this war, which is a false feeling because, in the long run, they will not win this war,” stated Röthig. “Patriotic fighters might argue that Zelenskyy sold the country and that he gave in to the Russians who would otherwise have been defeated.”

    Any peace that’s seen to have been dictated by Russia may result in continuous uprisings and guerilla warfare.

    Pressure from inside Russia

    “We always thought Putin is very rational deep inside,” stated Röthig. But this concept, in his view, has been confirmed incorrect: “At the very end of the day, however, he is acting purely emotionally and that makes him unpredictable. What I hope for is his environment, his direct advisers. But we don’t know how many of them he’s really listening to and what they actually tell him.”

    The German chancellor, for one, has described the invasion of Ukraine as “Putin’s war.” So what if Putin have been ousted?

    Sergey Medvedev from the Berlin-based “Dekabristen,” an NGO supporting grassroots initiatives in ex-Soviet nations, doesn’t rule out this situation. “As the first dead people arrive in Russia now and in the next days, even Putin supporters may begin to think: ‘Do we really need this war? And do we really need this regime?’”

    But Röthig could be very cautious about such a situation being mentioned within the West as a manner out of the Ukraine conflict. “I think regime change has never been a good idea because we do not know what it leads to and what kind of instabilities that would mean for us. I think this is nothing we should even think about.”

  • Russian invasion of Ukraine: All your questions answered

    As the Russian invasion of Ukraine stretched on to week two, nations worldwide have been swept up by the army and humanitarian disaster unfolding in Eastern Europe. India too has been feeling the warmth, because it scrambled to evacuate 1000’s of scholars and nationals in Ukraine whereas strolling the tightrope on the resolutions in opposition to Russia within the United Nations.

    The fast-developing battle has its roots in historic political, diplomatic and army occasions. Here’s a useful information that can assist you make sense of the Russia-Ukraine disaster.

    Why Ukraine issues to Russia

    Increasing hostilities with Ukraine and the West is advantageous to Russia given the tattered relationship between the USA and its European allies, the home help for such an endeavour and Putin’s want for a recognition enhance forward of the 2024 Russian Presidential elections. But how do the Ukrainians understand the present state of affairs, and what they’re ready to do with a purpose to shield their nationwide sovereignty?

    Why did Ukraine hand over its nuclear arsenal?

    After the autumn of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Ukraine set out on the trail to independence from the crumbling Soviet Union. Following this, Ukraine gave up the nuclear weapons that the USSR had positioned on its soil. In return, Russia, UK and US assured its safety. Russia has now threatened Ukraine with a nuclear assault. Nirupama Subramanian explains the reasoning behind Ukraine’s preliminary resolution.

    Understanding India’s repeated abstentions in opposition to Russia at UN

    India’s abstention is being defined by specialists as a balancing act of sustaining buddies and companions of each side. It can also be a legacy of the Nehruvian overseas coverage of non-alignment and the methods through which the 2 nations have interacted with one another within the United Nations. Adrija Roychowdhury writes on the balancing act of sustaining buddies and companions of each side.

    Why NATO isn’t sending troops to Ukraine

    In a bitter and emotional speech, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticised NATO for refusing to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, saying it’s going to absolutely untie Russia’s arms because it escalates its assault from the air. Amid the struggle in Ukraine, NATO has been quickly deploying troops to member nations throughout jap Europe. What is Article 5, NATO’s provision that might lead to a wider struggle?

    Why Switzerland is veering from its conventional neutrality coverage

    As western leaders got here collectively to sentence the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Switzerland broke its 200-year lengthy neutrality coverage to sanction Moscow and its leaders. The tiny Alpine nation the dimensions of Haryana has had a neutrality coverage in place since 1815. Even throughout the Second World War, it remained unbiased. Is the present resolution an exception to its long-standing coverage or a deliberate new route in Swiss politics?

    Why Russia is objecting to Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership

    Russia’s overseas ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova introduced that if Sweden and Finland have been to grow to be members of NATO, the transfer “would have serious military and political consequences”. Russia’s response got here following NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg’s invitation to Sweden and Finland to attend a digital summit relating to the state of affairs in Ukraine. Neha Banka takes a take a look at the bigger historic background at play right here, one that’s turning into more and more necessary given the continued disaster.

  • Behind sandbags, Ukraine’s Zelenskyy meets the media

    Written by Andrew E. Kramer

    Unshaven and sporting a army T-shirt, a haggard President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine on Thursday hosted his first information convention because the struggle started, inviting journalists into his workplace constructing, now fortified with sandbags.

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    In an animated briefing, Zelenskyy, whose defiance has made him an emblem of Ukrainian resistance to the Russian invasion, laid out the state of negotiations with Russia, voiced pleasure in his folks, pleaded for a no-fly zone and spoke frankly about concern of dying.

    Beyond the solutions Zelenskyy offered to questions, pulling a chair near attending journalists, the information convention appeared meant to sign that his battered authorities is no less than nonetheless functioning every week into the struggle, regardless of more and more dire situations in Kyiv.

    Zelenskyy mentioned he was notably happy with bizarre Ukrainians’ resistance to the Russian assault, a seething, offended rebellion by a lot of society at the same time as Russian tanks bore down on main cities and the capital.

    “That is why I am so strong and so decisive,” he mentioned. “We have a special people, an extraordinary people.” He mentioned that no senior officers had fled the nation, and several other prime aides turned up on the information convention.

    Zelenskyy mentioned he had appealed to Western leaders for added army help, together with asking President Emmanuel Macron of France and Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, an unlikely proposition, whereas additionally pursuing negotiations with the Russian management. The second of two rounds of talks with Russia in latest days passed off Thursday.

    “We are ready to speak on all topics,” he mentioned. Zelenskyy’s negotiator on the talks, Mykhailo Podolyak, mentioned later Thursday negotiations wrapped up with an settlement on cease-fire corridors for civilians to flee heavy fight, however no progress on a settlement.

    Ukrainian safety forces guard Independence Square in central Kyiv, Ukraine, March 2, 2022. (Lynsey Addario/The New York Times)

    “The Russian side has long ago formed the answers to their questions,” Zelenskyy mentioned. “What is the point of posing questions if you long ago have the answers? For now, this is the difficulty of this dialogue.”

    He mentioned he was able to compromise on some factors, however he didn’t specify which and mentioned he wouldn’t bend on situations threatening Ukrainian sovereignty.

    “There are issues where it’s needed to find a compromise, so people don’t die, and there are issues where there can be no compromise,” he mentioned. “Well, we cannot just say, ‘here it is, it’s your country now, Ukraine is part of Russia.’ This is just impossible. So why suggest it?”

    Reporters arrived on the presidential workplace in minivans that wove by concrete obstacles and metal I-beams welded into crosses and positioned on the streets to sluggish tanks. In the federal government district of Kyiv, often a quiet, leafy neighbourhood of places of work and chic, Nineteenth-century condominium blocks, armoured automobiles blocked crossroads.

    The vans sped by a warren of courtyards and right into a again entrance to the presidential workplace constructing. Inside the constructing, safety officers escorted journalists by flashlight by darkened corridors stuffed with troopers.

    Sandbags had been stacked alongside the windowsills. At doorways, firing positions have been in place to shoot from inside Zelenskyy’s workplace compound onto the road outdoors, suggesting a readiness to carry out even when avenue combating reaches the location.

    Zelenskyy thanked the reporters for turning up.

    “It’s best to see it with your own eyes,” he mentioned of the town’s preparations for protection. Still, he mentioned, he was doing all he might to barter.

    An aerial view reveals a residential constructing destroyed by shelling, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, within the settlement of Borodyanka within the Kyiv area, Ukraine (Reuters Photo)

    Zelenskyy mentioned he was getting about three hours of sleep an evening. His cheeks sagged with weariness. He was, although, animated and gestured energetically to drive residence factors.

    Though the briefing was held in a convention room to counsel some modicum of normality, troopers with assault rifles stood within the room and the home windows have been blocked by piles of white sandbags.

    He reiterated his request for direct talks with President Vladimir Putin, one thing the Russian chief has rebuffed each earlier than and after the beginning of hostilities.

    “It’s not that I want to talk to Putin,” he mentioned. “I need to talk to Putin. The world needs to talk to Putin. There is no other way to stop this war.”

    Of the battle and what he described as reviews the Russian military didn’t intend to repatriate its struggle useless to keep away from stirring anti-war sentiment at residence, he mentioned, “this is a nightmare. I cannot even imagine the type of man who would plan such acts.”

    Many of the Russian troopers have been 18- and 19-year-olds, mentioned Zelenskyy, who’s 45. He famous that the troopers are concerning the age of his personal daughter and “could be my children.” He added: “They will die in uniforms because of decisions made by men in suits.”

    Zelenskyy mentioned he had requested Scholz and Macron to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine. The concept has been largely rebuffed by Western governments as all however not possible, for risking direct battle between NATO and Russian forces.

    But he mentioned that Russian aggression would solely unfold if not stopped in Ukraine. The management in Moscow, he mentioned, would in some unspecified time in the future push on to different Eastern European nations and finally construct a brand new “Berlin Wall.”

    VIDEO: ‘Go Home!’ Ukrainians protest towards Russian occupation.

    Melitopol residents protest the Russian occupation of their metropolis, gathering in entrance of armed Russian troopers, yelling at them to ‘go home’ and waving Ukrainian flags. Gunshots could be heard in the course of the protest pic.twitter.com/On98s2EBCf

    — AFP News Agency (@AFP) March 4, 2022

    He criticised German officers for working at cross-purposes with Western efforts to stress Russia right into a settlement within the long-simmering japanese Ukraine struggle by constructing a brand new pure gasoline pipeline, Nord Stream 2, to Russia. The pipeline was meant to supply low cost power for Germany’s economic system, although the venture is now suspended.

    Zelenskyy, a former comic who has all the time had a eager sense of picture and storytelling in politics, mentioned he was conscious that his repeated televised appeals for resistance, and continued presence within the beleaguered capital, had turned him into an emblem in lots of nations of bravery and protection of democracy. That was serving to Ukraine, he mentioned.

    “I’m very happy the world united” to help Ukraine, mentioned Zelenskyy, who has refused to flee the nation, turning down a reported American evacuation provide. “I need ammunition, not a ride,” he mentioned on the time.

    Zelenskyy did have caustic phrases for Prime Minister Naftali Bennett of Israel, who has balanced help for Ukraine with an effort to take care of ties with Russia and had blocked some transfers of weapons to Ukraine that embody Israeli-manufactured components. Zelenskyy, who’s Jewish, famous {that a} Russian missile this week killed 5 civilians on the territory of a Holocaust memorial web site in Kyiv, Babyn Yar. The missile had focused a tv broadcasting tower.

    Zelenskyy mentioned he was impressed to see photos of individuals praying on the Western Wall in Jerusalem wrapped in blue and yellow Ukrainian flags. He steered it was time for the Israeli authorities to take an ethical stand. “Everything is tested by this moment,” he mentioned. “I don’t feel that he is wrapped in the flag of Ukraine,” he mentioned of Bennett.

    Asked if he was afraid of dying within the struggle, he mentioned everyone has such fears.

    “I’m an alive person, like any human being,” he mentioned. “And if a person is not afraid of losing his life, or the lives of his children, there is something unwell about that person.” He added, although, that as president, “I simply do not have the right” to be afraid.

    If he weren’t president, he mentioned, he most likely would have joined the volunteers who accepted rifles when the army began handing them out final week, and so could be dealing with dangers in any case. He mentioned he may additionally have chosen to assist by handing out meals to troopers as a substitute. He quipped that, “I am probably not as good a shot as some other people.”