Ukraine rejects a ceasefire or any territorial concessions to Moscow as Russia ramps up its offensive in the east and south of the country.
Kiev’s stance has become increasingly tough in recent weeks as Russia’s advance in eastern Ukraine has been halted and officials fear it could be forced to sacrifice territory in exchange for a deal. peace.
“The conflict must end with Ukraine fully restore territorial integrity and sovereignty,” Ukraine’s presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak said in a Twitter post on May 22.
Mykhailo Podolyak, Zelensky’s top negotiator and adviser, on May 21 also rejected the possibility of Ukraine making territorial concessions as well as calls for an immediate ceasefire, saying this means the Russian military will stay in the territories they control, which Kiev cannot accept.
“Russian forces must leave the country and then the peace process can be resumed,” Podolyak said in an interview with Reuters. Concessions will backfire because Russia will use that time to come back stronger, he stressed.
Polish President Andrzej Duda on the same day show a supportive stance Ukraine, said that the international community must demand the complete withdrawal of Russian troops and that “if Ukraine gives in, even an inch of territory, for economic reasons or political ambitions, it will be a huge blow not only for Ukrainebut also for the entire Western world”.
“Only Ukraine has the right to decide on its future,” he told parliament.
A Ukrainian soldier in the Donbass battlefield in April. Photo: Reuters.
Speaking at the same session of parliament, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky keep calling impose economic sanctions stronger for Moscow. “Half-measures should not be used where aggression must be prevented,” he said.
Immediately after the President of Ukraine and his Polish counterpart finished their speeches, an air raid siren sounded in Kiev as a reminder that conflict is still happening even when the battlefield is hundreds of kilometers away.
Russia is said to be considering exchange prisoners of Ukrainian Azov Battalion for Viktor Medvedchuka pro-Moscow Ukrainian oligarch was arrested by Kiev in March.
“The Russian government will consider this possibility”, the news agency RIA Novosti quoted Leonid Slutsky, a senior member of Russia’s negotiating delegation to Ukraine, speaking at a press conference in the breakaway city of Donetsk, southeastern Ukraine, on May 21.
The businessman Medvedchuk, 67, and leader of the Opposition for Life of Ukraine party, is said to have made his fortune thanks to Russian oil and close ties to the Kremlin. Forbes magazine estimates Medvedchuk is worth around $620 million.
Medvedchuk’s party pursued a pro-Moscow agenda before he was charged with treason in May 2021 for selling military secrets to Russia and exploiting natural resources in Crimea at the request of Moscow. Medvedchuk denied wrongdoing and was placed under house arrest before fleeing in February, just days after Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine.
Medvedchuk arrested by the Ukrainian security service last month after a special campaign. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky then proposed exchanging Medvedchuk with Ukrainian prisoners of war captured by Russia.
The Russian military on May 20 announced all 2,439 soldiers The Azov battalion in the Azovstal steel plant in the city of Mariupol has surrendered, while Kiev has not confirmed the number.
Andrei Shevchik, who was appointed mayor of the northwestern Ukrainian city of Enerhodar by Russia after taking control of it, is get special care After an explosion here, the news agency RIA Novosti of Russia on May 22 reported.
“We have accurate information that the self-proclaimed head of ‘people’s administration’ Shevchik and his bodyguards were injured in an explosion,” said Dmytro Orlov, who Ukrainian authorities still recognize as mayor. legitimacy of the city, said in a Telegram post.
According to him, Shevchik has been taken to the Moscow-controlled city of Melitopol for treatment of his injuries, and he will temporarily take over as city leader.
Before the conflict, Enerhodar had a population of about 50,000. Many of its residents work at two power plants adjacent to the city, one of which is Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, Zaporizhzhia.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced today that its forces have carried out air strikes and shelling targets Ukraine’s command center, army and ammunition depot in Donbass and area Mykolaiv in the south.
Major General Igor Konashenkov, spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Defense, said that the missiles launched from the plane hit three command bases, 13 areas of concentration of troops and military equipment of Ukraine, and four ammunition magazines. pharmacy in Donbass.
In the Mykolaiv region, Russian missiles hit a mobile anti-drone system near the settlement of Hannivka, about 100 kilometers northeast of the city of Mykolaiv.
“Missiles and artillery hit 583 areas where Ukrainian troops and military equipment are concentrated, 41 control points, 76 artillery and mortar units in firing positions, including three Grad batteries. , as well as a Ukrainian electronic warfare station Bukovel near the settlement of Hannivka, Mykolaiv region,” he said.
Since the launch of a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, Russia has destroyed 174 aircraft, 125 helicopters, 977 drones, 317 anti-aircraft missile systems, 3,198 tanks and other equipment. other armored fighting vehicles and 408 enemy missiles, Major General Konashenkov added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a video address on the night of May 21. Image: Office of the President of Ukraine.
In a video posted on the night of May 21, Ukrainian President Zelensky admitted “the situation in Donbass is extremely difficult“, as the Russian military stepped up its attacks on the city of Slovyansk in the Donetsk Oblast and the city of Severodonetsk in the Lugansk Oblast in the past few days.
Zelensky previously said that the size of Ukraine’s military is now nearly six times larger than when Russia launched a military operation in late February.
“We need an army of more than 250,000 or 260,000 men, but only about 120,000” are ready to fight in Ukraine before Russia begins the operation. “Now the number is 700,000. Now everyone sees the results of 700,000 people fighting.”
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov earlier this week assessed that the war with Russia has entered a protracted phase, as Moscow prepares for a long-term military campaign to take complete control of the Donbass region.
A senior official at the Pentagon, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Russian forces are now fighting in eastern Ukraine in smaller groups, instead of attacking with large-scale battalion-level units as before, in order to counter with the problems of logistics, organizational structure on the battlefield.
Outline of the battlefield in eastern Ukraine after nearly three months of hostilities. Click on the picture to see details.
Vu Hoang (According to Reuters, AFP, CNN)
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