Photo : president.gov.ua
Photo : president.gov.ua
By Neha Tresa George and Padmashree Anandhan
WAR ON THE GROUND
On 14 June, Ukrinform reported on Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s President's response to Vladimir Putin, Russian President ceasefire conditions. He was unwilling to trust and stated that Putin would not stop the offensive even if a ceasefire was agreed upon. He said: “He will not stop. It is the same thing that Hitler used to do. [...] This is why we should not trust these messages.”
On 13 June, The Daily Star reported that Ukrainian forces were fighting to defend Ivanivske near Chasiv Yar, a strategic hilltop settlement whose capture would give Russia a stronghold in the eastern Donetsk region and leverage for more assaults on the civilian hubs in the industrial region. In a briefing for journalists, the Ukrainian military said, "Two combat engagements continue near Ivanivske. The situation is very tense.” The announcement came as Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended the G7 summit in Italy urging the world leaders for more aid to combat the Russian troops. A military press officer said that although Russia was failing to gain control of the Chasiv Yar, defending the area was extremely hard.
THE MOSCOW VIEW
Claims by Russia
On 14 June, RT reported on Putin listing the terms and conditions for a ceasefire and peaceful reconciliation at a meeting with Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, and other senior Russian diplomats. Putin said: “Our side will order a ceasefire and start negotiations the minute Kyiv declares that it is prepared to take this decision and starts the actual withdrawal of troops from those regions, and also formally informs us that it no longer plans to join NATO.” Moscow rejected Kyiv’s claims of sovereignty over five formerly Ukrainian regions, four of which voted to join Russia in 2022. Although, tension continues in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Regions. Putin also condemned the Western nations for allegedly holding back Kyiv from peace talks with Moscow. He also added that Moscow would not accept a frozen conflict as the full resolution of the invasion would only be complete if Kyiv recognised the new regions and Crimea as part of Russia. He also condemned the G7 summit framing the event as a means of distraction from the “true roots” of conflict. He also predicted a pan-European security system for all the nations on the continent noting that Moscow had sought this for years.
THE WEST VIEW
Responses of the US and Europe
On 14 June, the Swiss government reported receiving 100 guests for the upcoming peace summit. The government aims to begin the peace process and lay out ideas for the next step. In a statement released by The Federal Council of Switzerland: “…this summit, Switzerland is providing a platform for discussion where all states present can contribute their ideas and visions for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.” Apart from this, it will also be the first time a high-level discussion revolves around negotiating the inclusion of Russia in the next steps. Switzerland intends to continue the practice of promoting dialogue.
On 14 June, on the second day of the meeting, NATO defence ministers in Brussels agreed on greater aid for Ukraine at the top of the agenda. Earlier, Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General said the plan was to: "Address how to further strengthen our deterrence on defence. Ministers will discuss a new defence industrial pledge to scale up military production and solidify long-term cooperation with our industry.” Previously, the NATO countries supported Ukraine through an informal US-led group, the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. At present responsibilities could be handed over to the formal structures of NATO which has a long-standing aim for the member countries to spend two per cent of their GDP on defence. Although only a few members met the target, Hanno Pevkur, Estonian Defence Minister, proposed a target of 2.5 per cent to be spent as Estonia is currently spending more than three per cent. He proposed this by referring to Russia’s nine per cent spending on defence for the year in the light of the invasion.
On 13 June, according to the Ministry of Defence of the Netherlands, the country announced the shipment of the 152-mm shells to Ukraine which cost more than EUR 350 million. The new dispatching came under the funding of the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU). IFU is an additional defence mechanism for Ukraine led by the Ministry of Defence, UK with participation from countries Australia, Denmark, Iceland, Lithuania, New Zealand, Norway, Iceland, Lithuania, and Sweden. These countries contributed over a billion euros to the IFU along with the Netherlands contributing EUR 125 million. Although the Ministry did not reveal the exact number and delivery time of 152-mm shells due to security reasons, they said that this was one of the IFU’s largest orders from the international arms industry. Under the Czech initiative, Ukraine will receive 50,000-100,000 large-calibre artillery shells a month.
On 13 June, the UK announced new sanctions on Russia which targeted the country’s vessels in the shadow fleet, suppliers supporting Russian military productions, and key financial institutions. The sanctions were announced while Rishi Sunak, Prime Minister of the UK attended the G7 summit in Italy and coordinated the aid for Ukraine along with the other G7 leaders. The UK has also committed to provide EUR 242 million in bilateral assistance to Ukraine. The sanctions will aim at cutting down Russia’s ability to fund and equip its war machine as it targets oil exports which remains the most critical revenue source for the war. Tax on oil production collected by the Kremlin in 2023 amounted to 8.9 trillion Rubles or 31 per cent of Russia’s total federal revenues. The sanctions target suppliers of munitions, machine tools, microelectronics, and logistics to Russia’s military, including entities based in China, Israel, Kyrgyzstan, and Türkiye, along with ships that transport military goods from North Korea to Russia. As a coordinated action with the US, the new package also slams down the Moscow Stock Exchange. Since February 2022, the sanctions have cost Russia over USD 400 billion worth of assets and revenues. There has been a 99 per cent fall in Russian imports into the UK, and a 73 per cent fall in UK exports to Russia.
References
Oleh Pavliuk, Tetyana Oliynyk, “Ukraine to receive 152-mm shells worth €350 million from the Netherlands, Ukrainska Pravda, 13 June 2024
“NATO ministers talk defence spending, aid for Ukraine,” Deutsche Welle, 14 June 2024
“Ukraine fighting ‘tense battles outside key town, The Daily Star, 14 June 2024
“New UK sanctions to crack down on Putin's war machine, GOV.UK, 13 June 2024
“Switzerland receives 100 state guests for Summit on Peace in Ukraine,” admin.ch, 14 June 2024
“Putin names conditions for Ukraine peace talks,” RT, 14 June 2024