Photo : Ukrainian Presidential Press Office
Photo : Ukrainian Presidential Press Office
War in Ukraine: Days 688
By Padmashree Anandhan
War on the Ground
On 12 January, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s President and Rishi Sunak, UK’s Prime Minister signed a security accord. The deal provides USD three billion of military aid and will one of first concrete agreement signed following the UK’s pledges. Sunak said: “It’s important that Russia sees that we are not moving away, that we will be with Ukraine, not just today, not just tomorrow, but for the long term.” Compared to the US, the UK assistance is considered small but with the block in the US Congress, the security cooperation will be strong step towards a 100-year partnership between the UK and Ukraine. As per the agreement, in occurrence of an Russian attack, the UK will discuss with Ukraine in 24 hours to decide measures to counter.
The Moscow View
Claims by Russia
On 12 January, Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former President responded to the UK-Ukraine security agreement. He warned the UK on deployment of its troops in Ukraine as “declaration of war.” The deal which was signed following the G7 summit discussion in 2023, has come under the criticism of Russia open engagement.
On 12 January, RT reported on the surge in Ukrainians deemed ineligible for new recruitment. The cases were observed to be on the rise due to Ukrainians paying medical workers to avoid being recruited. According to the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) the surge in potential Ukrainians rejected ranged from three (2021) to eight (2022) and at present stands at 27 per cent in 2023.
The West View
Responses from the US and Europe
On 12 January, the government of the UK announced a new package for Ukraine aligning with Rishi Sunak’s visit to Kyiv. The new package will include additional military support of GBP 200 million to Ukraine from 2025. According to the UK Ministry of Defence, it has pledged to work with international partners to support Ukraine with mass number of drones. It also assured “intelligence sharing, cybersecurity, medical, military training, and defence cooperation.” The package aims to boost Ukraine’s manoeuvrability in surveillance, and improve drone stock.
On 12 January, the US announced a new set of sanctions on Russian entities and the individuals involved in procuring and testing of North Korea’s ballistic missiles. The move comes following the usage of North Korea’s short-range ballistic missiles by Russia in targeting Kyiv. On the same Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of the State said: “…transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia supports Russia's war of aggression, increases the suffering of the Ukrainian people, and undermines the global nonproliferation regime.”
References
David L Stern, “In Kyiv, U.K. prime minister warns Russia that aid for Ukraine won’t falter,” The Washington Post, 12 January 2024
“Corruption suspected as draft avoidance surges in Ukraine,” RT, 12 January 2024
“British troops in Ukraine would be ‘declaration of war’ – Medvedev,” RT, 12 January 2024
“Ukraine updates: UK pledges extra aid as Sunak visits Kyiv,” Deutsche Welle, 12 January 2024