Photo : Klaus-Dietmar Gabbert/dpa/picture alliance
12 July 2023, Wednesday | NIAS Europe Daily Brief #567
War in Ukraine: Day 502
By Sreeja JS
War on the Ground
On 11 July, according to Ukrinform, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine's President expressed his discontent with the uncertainty prevailing over Ukraine’s NATO membership bid. He said that the wording of the conditions of the “invitation is being discussed without Ukraine.” He added; “It’s unprecedented and absurd when time frame is not set neither for the invitation nor for Ukraine’s membership.” According to Ukrinform, Zelenskyy also said: “It seems there is no readiness nether to invite Ukraine to NATO not to make it a member of the Alliance.” He called the prevailing uncertainty a “weakness” and said that he would openly discuss this at the summit.
On 11 July, Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine's Defence Minister announced on Twitter that France would increase its military aid to Kyiv by EUR 170 million. According to the agreement signed between the defence ministries of both countries, the procurement process and the supply of weapons would be simplified. It would also provide a framework for the joint production of spare parts and maintenance of foreign weapons and equipment.
On 11 July, the General staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported on Facebook that Russian forces have fired numerous Iranian-made Shahed drones into Ukrainian territory. Heavy battles are going on in Kupyansk, Lymansk, Bakhmutsk, Avdiivsk and Marinsk. Russia is maintaining a military presence in Siverskyi and Slobozhanskyi and is engaged in airstrikes in Volfyny, Sumy and Bakhmut. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are conducting offensive operations in Melitopol and Berdyansk. The report also mentioned that certain units of the Armed Forces of Belarus are “performing tasks in the areas bordering Ukraine.”
The Moscow View
Claims by Russia
On 11 July, Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson said that Russia would continue dialogue with African countries on ways to settle the situation in Ukraine. Earlier in June, Putin was engaged in talks with the seven African leaders who visited Moscow to discuss settling the conflict in Ukraine.
On 11 July, Valentina Matviyenko, Speaker of the Russian Federation Council during her visit to China criticized Washington's decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine. According to TASS, she said that the decision amounts to a “war crime” and that it “runs counter to all international documents.” She further remarked that the Federation Council has called upon the parliaments of other countries to ensure that “everyone condemns such a criminal decision” and measures are taken to prevent the delivery of cluster munitions.
On 11 July, RT reported that Sergey Shoigu, Defence Minister of Russia said that if the US supplies cluster munitions to Kyiv, the Russian Armed Forces would be “compelled to use equivalent weapons against the Ukrainian Forces” as a response. He noted that Russia is also not a party to the Convention of Cluster Munitions and Moscow refrained from using these weapons because of the threat they pose to the civilian population. Anatoly Antonov, Moscow’s ambassador to Washington also criticized the move by calling it an “act of madness” and a gesture of desperation.”
The West View
Responses from the US and Europe
On 11 July, Jens Stoltenberg, NATO's Secretary General said that the alliance did not record any deployment or movement of any Wagner forces into Belarus. According to Ukrinform, Stoltenberg assured that the alliance is always ready to protect its members from any potential threat.
On 11 July, the Norwegian government pledged an additional NOK 2.5 billion of military aid to Ukraine along the sidelines of the NATO summit.
On 11 July, Deutsche Welle reported that a coalition of 11 nations would start training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets in Denmark in August. A training centre would be put up in Romania. NATO members Denmark and Netherlands have been leading efforts through an international jet coalition to maintain F-16 fighter jets, train pilots and support staff and finally supply the jets to Ukraine. According to the report, none of the countries have committed to sending the jets to Ukraine, though Poland and Slovakia have supplied 27 MiG-29s to Kyiv.
References
“Zelensky: Conditions of invitation to NATO being discussed in Vilnius without Ukraine,” Ukrinform, 11 July 2023
“Operational information as of 18.00 on 11.07.2023 regarding the Russian invasion,,” Ukrinform, 11 July 2023
“Russia to continue dialogue with Africa on Ukrainian settlement — Kremlin spokesman,” TASS, 11 July 2023
“Russian senate speaker says sending cluster munitions to Ukraine would be war crime,” TASS, 11 July 2023
“Russia warns US about cluster bombs,” RT News, 11 July 2023
“NATO doesn't record any movement of "Wagnerites" to Belarus,” 11 July 2023
“Ukrainian pilots' F-16 training to start in August,” Deutsche Welle, 11 July 2023
“Norway boosts military pledge by over €200 million for Ukraine,” Deutsche Welle, 11 July 2023
James Landale and James Gregory, “Nato summit: Allies refuse to give Ukraine timeframe on joining,” BBC, 11 July 2023