Photo : REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
18 May 2022, Wednesday| NIAS Europe Daily Brief #204
War in Ukraine: Day 83
By Rishma Banerjee
War On The Ground
On 17 May, Mariupol, which had been under siege from the beginning of the war in February, finally fell to the Russian forces. The last of the Ukrainians holding out in the bunkers and tunnels below the Azovstal steelworks surrendered. Russia’s defence ministry reports that 256 fighters have surrendered, among whom 51 were severely wounded, and will be taken to Novoazovsk in the Russian-backed breakaway Donetsk region. The remaining fighters were taken to a prison in Olenivka, near Donetsk. Ukraine has acknowledged the terrific bravery of the defenders at Mariupol, who managed to hold the Russian forces at bay for 82 days, amidst severe bombardment and blockades. Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said: "Because Mariupol drew in the Russian Federation's forces for 82 days, the operation to seize the east and south (of Ukraine) was held up. It changed the course of the war."
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported about his "long and meaningful" phone conversation with France’s president Emmanuel Macron about the war in Ukraine. He said that they had spoken about the evacuation of the military from Azovstal, and how negotiation might be carried on in the future. The two leaders also spoke about fuel supply to Ukraine, France’s assistance to the country, a potential EU membership, and the export of food grains to the world. On the same day, Zelenskyy mentioned that he had a productive discussion with Germany's chancellor Olaf Scholz. They spoke about the front line of the war, and about increasing further sanctions on Moscow.
On 17 May, the emergency service of Ukraine’s Chernihiv region said that eight people were killed and 12 wounded due to a Russian airstrike on Desna village. This comes after the region's governor, Viacheslav Chaus, said: "Yes, there are no more occupiers in the Chernihiv region but it is easy for them to reach us. Don't ignore air raid warnings!" The governor of the northeastern region of Sumy, Dmytro Zhyvytsky said that the border guards have succeeded in repelling an attempted Russian incursion by a sabotage and reconnaissance group in the northeastern region of Sumy.
Kalush Orchestra, the band from Ukraine that won the Eurovision song contest, is planning a tour of Europe. This effort will be to raise money for Ukraine's army. Frontman Oleh Psiuk said at a news conference that they will soon announce the specifics of their tour on their social media profiles.
The Moscow View:
Claims by Russia
On 17 May, TASS news agency reported that a Russian investigative committee would question the fighters holding out at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol and have finally surrendered. This will be done to investigate what Moscow calls “criminal cases and surrounding Ukrainian region crimes.”
The speaker of Russia’s parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin said that they will consider banning the exchange of Russian prisoners of war for members of Ukraine's Azov Regiment, who were the last to hold out at Mariupol. Leonid Slutsky, another Russian lawmaker said that Russia should consider the death penalty for the fighters of the Azov regiment, “monstrous crimes against humanity.” The Azov regiment was once a nationalist militia but has since been integrated into Ukraine's National Guard and were the last bastions of resistance against Russian troops in the strategically important port city. As per Russia’s ministry of justice, Russia's prosecutor general has also asked the Supreme Court to declare the regiment as a "terrorist organisation".
While addressing a meeting with domestic oil managers and government officials, president Vladimir Putin said that it would be impossible for some European countries to stop their dependence on Russian oil. The embargo has been proposed by the newest set of sanctions from the European Union. He said that by putting an embargo on Russian supplies, Europe will risk paying the most exorbitant prices for oil in the world in the long term. This will undermine the competitiveness of the industry.
On 17 May, Russia's defence ministry reported that arms shipments to Ukraine's western Lviv region from the US and Europe have been destroyed by their missiles.
The West View:
Responses from the US and Europe
On 17 May, the US announced that it will launch a new programme to capture and analyze if war crimes and other atrocities had been committed by the Russian troops in Ukraine. The US state department made the announcement about the so-called “Conflict Observatory” that will engage in documentation, verification, and dissemination of evidence of Russia’s acts of aggression. Their analyses and findings will then be made available on their website.
The US treasury secretary, Janet Yellen in a speech at the Brussels Economic Forum, said that Ukraine’s financial needs were extremely severe. She called for US allies to increase their financial support for Ukraine, saying that given the scale of devastation in the country, the assistance announced so far will not be enough.
Germany’s finance minister, Christian Lindner said that he is considering the idea of seizing Russian state assets to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine. He said that he is willing to seize the foreign assets of the Russian Central Bank and this was something that was being discussed by the Group of Seven economic powers.
In an EU meeting of the bloc's defence ministers, Josep Borrell said that if reports are analyzed, it will be seen that Russia’s army has suffered huge losses. He said: "I wouldn't dare to make a hypothesis about how long Russia can resist... If it is true that Russia has lost 15% of their troops since the beginning of the war, this is a world record of the losses of an army invading a country." He also said that the EU will not let Ukraine run out of military equipment and weapons if the war continues.
The Global Fallouts:
Implications of the Ukraine war
The chief of the World Health Organisation spoke about how health care provisions in Ukraine have been under attack because of the ongoing war. Hans Kluge, who serves as the WHO regional director for Europe, said that every third patient in Ukraine has had issues with access to medicine, every fifth patient needed psychological help and sexual violence was also becoming a common affair. In a news conference, he said that WHO has identified 226 attacks on healthcare in Ukraine, and that these were unjustifiable, and needed to be thoroughly investigated.
UNICEF said that due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the cost of providing life-saving treatment to undernourished children will rise by 16 per cent. Reportedly, the cost of ready-to-use therapeutic food has already become more expensive and without proper funding, 600,000 more children may miss out on necessary treatment in the next six months.
The finance ministers of the G7 countries deliberated on sanctioning a EUR 15 billion aid package for Ukraine. The package would extend over three months and have a short-term financing arrangement, mainly in the form of grants.
References
“Ukraine Eurovision winners to tour Europe to raise money for army,” Reuters, 18 May 2022
“Hundreds of Ukrainians defending Azovstal plant surrender to uncertain fate,” Reuters, 18 May 2022
Shaun Walker and Andrew Roth “Fate of hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers unclear as Azovstal resistance ends,” The Guardian, 17 May 2022
“Ukraine hails Mariupol defenders as heroes who changed course of war,” Reuters, 17 May 2022
“Ukrainian president and France's Macron discuss Ukraine's war with Russia,” Reuters, 17 May 2022
“Ukrainian president and German chancellor discuss war, Russia sanctions,” Reuters, 17 May 2022
“Russian air strike kills eight in northern Ukraine, emergency service says,” Reuters, 17 May 2022
Ukraine says it has repelled Russian incursion in Sumy region,” Reuters, 17 May 2022
“Russian investigators to question Ukrainian fighters who surrendered at Azovstal - TASS,” Reuters, 17 May 2022
“Russian parliament to consider ban on exchanging Ukrainian Azov prisoners,” Reuters, 17 May 2022
“Russian prosecutor asks court to declare Ukraine's Azov Regiment "terrorist organization, Interfax reports,” Reuters, 17 May 2022
“Russian negotiator says Ukraine's Azov fighters 'don't deserve to live’,” Reuters, 17 May 2022
“Russia says it hit U.S. and European arms shipments in western Ukraine,” Reuters, 17 May 2022
“Putin says it's impossible for some EU countries to ditch Russian oil now,” Reuters, 17 May 2022
Daphne Psaledakis, “U.S. launches program to capture, analyze evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine,” Reuters, 18 May 2022
“Macron tells Zelenskiy: French arms deliveries to Ukraine will intensify,” Reuters, 17 May 2022
“EU top diplomat says if verified, Russia has suffered "impressive losses" Reuters, 17 May 2022
“The EU will not let Ukraine run out of equipment, Borrell says,” Reuters, 17 May 2022
“WHO raises alarm about 'healthcare on a knife-edge' in Ukraine,” Reuters, 17 May 2022
“U.N. warns of 'catastrophic' child malnutrition due to price hikes, Ukraine war,” Reuters, 17 May 2022
“G7 finance ministers plan 15 billion euros aid for Ukraine,” Reuters, 17 May 2022
IN BRIEF
By Ashwin Dhanabalan
FINLAND
Parliament approves application proposal for NATO membership
On 17 May, Helsinki’s parliament voted yes to join the NATO military alliance. According to the speaker Matti Vanhanen, out of 200 parliamentarians, 188 voted in favor of the motion while eight voted against it. Foreign minister Pekka Haavisto stated that the decision would not change Finland’s values of seeking peaceful and diplomatic solutions to conflicts. Haavisto added: “Our border would become the border between the military alliance and Russia. New tensions would not be a risk only during the application process but rather a new and permanent condition of our foreign and security policy.” Chairman Jussi Halla-aho also mentioned that the decision was taken after considering many experts and noting the opinions of ten parliamentary committees. (“Finland’s parliament votes yes to NATO,” Reuters, 17 May 2022)
THE UK
Regular pay increases to 4.2 per cent as the unemployment rate falls to 3.7 per cent
On 17 May, Reuters reported that the UK’s unemployment rate was at an all-time low of 3.7 per cent. The low unemployment rate has accentuated the increase of pay and bonuses to keep and attract staff. Pay increased to seven per cent, which was far above the average forecast of 5.4 per cent. However, this had also led to the rise of consumer price inflation in March to seven per cent. Officials forecast a rise in prices due to the rise in energy tariffs. The price rise could lead the economy close to a recession by the end of 2022, eventually increasing unemployment. (David Milliken and William Schomberg, “UK unemployment hits 48-year low, pushing up pay,” Reuters, 18 May 2022)
REGIONAL
NATO organizes large scale military drills in Estonia
On 17 May, NATO organized one of the most extensive military exercises in the Baltic regions, involving ten countries. The exercises named Hedgehog were held in Estonia and will continue till 03 June. NATO said the exercises were aimed to enhance the readiness and interoperability of its forces and were planned even before Russia invaded Ukraine. About 15,000 troops are involved in the exercises marking it as one of the largest military drills held in Estonia since 1991. According to the BBC, the exercises were taking place 64 kilometers from Moscow’s military bases and were intended to simulate an attack from Russia on Estonia. (Malu Cursino, “Nato begins its military exercises in Baltics,” BBC, 17 May 2022)
INTERNATIONAL
Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall visit Canada
On 18 May, UK’s prince Charles and Camilla met with prime minister Justin Trudeau in Canada. The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall are on a three-day visit to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Charles also mentioned that the two would meet indigenous communities and initiate a process of reconciliation with them. The prince added: “look forward to listening to you and learning about the future you are working to build.” Their visit comes as the uncovering of mass graves at former church-run schools caused a national reckoning. The government schools back then were used as a medium to assimilate indigenous children and destroy indigenous cultures. (Andre Rhoden-Paul, “Charles and Camilla visit Canada on royal tour to mark Platinum Jubilee,” BBC, 18 May 2022)