Photo : Reuters
Photo : Reuters
By Neha George
WAR ON THE GROUND
On 07 June, in a speech before the French National Assembly on the D-Day commemorations Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s President compared Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to the fight against Nazi Germany. Emmanuel Macron, France’s President announced on sending Mirage 2000 fighter jets to Ukraine to increase its direct military support to Kyiv. They had recently stopped donating fighter jets arguing on Kyiv to focus on procuring F-16s. Zelenskyy also urged the Western allies to speed up weapon deliveries to halt Russia’s increasing aggression.
On 07 June, Euronews reported on the European Commission announcement on Ukraine and Moldova fulfilling the criteria to start formal negotiations on their accession to the EU. They both were granted candidate status just months after the war began in 2022. Although the accession process involves a long list of reforms to meet a series of judicial, constitutional, and economic reforms. According to the report, Ukraine had completed outstanding reforms related to curbing oligarchs, and corruption along with protection of the rights of national minorities. Meanwhile, Moldova was tied up with some pending judicial reforms. Since the decision to commence the talks remained with the member states, it was firmly opposed by Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary citing the corruption levels and the lack of measures to protect the rights of the Hungarian minority in the border region. With Orban’s government set to take the presidency of the European Council, the member states fear further derailment as it has the power to set the agenda and chair the meetings. The Ukrainian officials revealed that they were looking forward to the decision of EU member states.
THE MOSCOW VIEW
Claims by Russia
On 07 June, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) Vladimir Putin, Russian President on question over peace talks stated that it was based on either defeat or victory, but for him, Russia intends to win. Further, he added on the need for trust in people for a peace negotiation. Referring to the Minsk peace processes, Putin stated how he tried to resolve the conflict in the Donbas region in 2014. In the speech, Putin explained since Russian and the US had sophisticated systems to detect incoming missiles, the European members of NATO were defenceless. He also expressed confidence in Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons which were enough to tackle both the European and the US weapons. He also warned about the “infinite casualties” posed by these wars. On nuclear escalation, he rejected the possibility by saying that Russia’s nuclear doctrine allowed the use of nuclear weapons only in case of threats to sovereignty and integrity.
On the same forum, Putin stated how Russia’s economic growth had exceeded more than any global powers without any reliance on gas and oil. He revealed that Russia’s GDP had expanded in 2024 amid the depreciation due to the Ukraine-related sanctions in 2022. The increase of 3.6 per cent was seen from 1.2 per cent in 202, stemmed mostly from non-resource-based industries like manufacturing, construction, logistics, communications, and agriculture, along with supporting industries such as trade, hospitality, and financial services. He stated that Russia had achieved its goal of joining the four largest economies as it is now ranked as the fourth largest economy surpassing Japan and Germany according to the data of the World Bank. Despite many sanctions on Russian banks and cut off from the international SWIFT interbank messaging system, to freeze USD 300 billion in Russian foreign exchange reserves, Putin highlighted on Russia’s steady economic growth. Most analysts claim the reason for its influence in the African markets, the Middle East, and Asia, and the fiscal changes adopted by the country’s financial authorities. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had predicted the Russian economy to grow faster than any advanced economy in 2024.
THE WEST VIEW
Responses of the US and Europe
On 07 June, swissinfo.ch reported on Viola Amherd, Switzerland’s President considering the peace conference as a prelude to the upcoming negotiations. In an interview to the Frankfurter Allgemeine, she said that since both parties needed to be at the meeting for negotiations, a peace agreement would not be signed. The peace conference which is supposed to take place between 15 and 16 June at the Bürgenstock resort above Lake Lucerne, will host more than eighty countries. It is intended to create a platform for peace dialogue in Ukraine, humanitarian issues, nuclear safety, freedom of navigation, and food security. Amherd also highlighted the importance of the participation of countries close to Russia. She stated that the countries who confirmed their attendance were from western Europe, the other half from Africa, South America, and Asia.
On 07 June, at a news conference in Sweden that Ukraine NATO Secretary General Jons Stoltenberg said that NATO had the right to self-defend and to hit legitimate military targets as per international law. He said he was considering arming the western allies’ enemies in retaliation. The Russian Defence Ministry had accused the Ukrainian forces of firing five US-supplied ATACMS missiles at the Russian-controlled eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk wounding twenty people. The Russia-installed governor of that region, Leonid Pasechnik also reported that three had been killed in the firing, raising the number of victims to thirty-five including three children. He also revealed that thirty-three buildings had been damaged in an airstrike. The Defence Ministry also reported on its air defence systems shooting down four of the five missiles that damaged two residential apartment blocks alleging the attack as deliberate.
On 07 June, in a meeting with Zelenskyy in Paris, Joe Biden, the President of the US apologised to Ukraine for a six-month holdup of USD 61 billion military aid package for Ukraine. The President insisted on standing with Ukraine for a long period. Earlier, they had met in Normandy, France where Biden drew parallels between the Nazi forces and the Russian troops invading Ukraine. Following the discussion between both leaders, Zelenskyy called for all US to support Ukraine. Russia is observed to take advantage of Kyiv’s shortage of weapons along the 1,000-kilometre front line. Although Ukraine had managed to thwart the Russian troops with US aid, the slow pace of delivery of promised weapons and aid had caused a strain in their relationship.
References
Victor Goury-Laffont, “Zelenskyy to French lawmakers: ‘Nazism is resurgent’,” POLITICO, 07 June 2024
Mared Gwyn Jones, “Brussels says Ukraine and Moldova ready for membership talks as Hungary mounts opposition,” euronews, 07 June 2024
“Swiss president envisions follow-ups to peace summit,” swissinfo.ch, 07 June 2024
“NATO allies fed up with Berlin opposing name of new Ukraine mission,” SME TIMES, 07 June 2024
“Ukraine has right to strike targets in Russia, NATO chief says,” CyprusMail, 07 June 2024
“Russia will win – Putin,” RT, 07 June 2024
“US wouldn’t rescue allies in nuclear war – Putin,” RT, 07 June 2024
“Russian economic growth exceeding global average – Putin at SPIEF,” RT, 07 June 2024
“Biden apologises to Zelenskyy for monthslong congressional holdup to weapons that let Russia advance,” AP, 08 June 2024