“Russia is concentrating its forces, we all know that. These are the words spoken by Volodymyr Zelensky this Thursday during a press conference in the company of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. The latter is participating this Friday in an EU summit in kyiv. There, the President of the European Commission supported Ukraine’s accession to the EU and assured that a new set of sanctions against Russia should soon be put on track. Ursula von der Leyen, who did not give details of her intentions regarding this tenth package, assured that Moscow will have to “pay for the destruction it has caused”.
Here is a point in four infographics on this new week of tensions, ending this Friday, the 345th day of conflict, while the shadow of a new large-scale Russian offensive worries Ukrainians and Europeans.
In the East, Moscow far from letting go
After a series of humiliating setbacks in the fall, Russia mobilized hundreds of thousands of reservists. Associated with the paramilitary group Wagner, the Russian army intensified the fighting. Vladimir Putin’s forces recently scored their first success in months by taking Soledar, a town in eastern Ukraine. On Tuesday, Russia claimed responsibility for the capture of the locality of Blagodatné, after claiming to have entered Vougledar, in the Donbass, where intense fighting is still ongoing. In Bakhmout, pounded since the summer by the Russian army, the last remaining inhabitants assure that they do not intend to flee even if the Russians approach.
These offensives in the East worry the Ukrainians, about twenty days from the first anniversary of the invasion. “We too must be ready as soon as possible, and that is why we need weapons, to contain the enemy”, insisted the Ukrainian Minister of Defense, Oleksiï Reznikov, invited Wednesday evening on BFM TV. And, this Friday, President Volodymyr Zelensky assured that Ukraine “will fight as long as necessary” in “the fortress” of Bakhmout.
Deliveries of cluster bombs?
This week, a European country offered to send cluster bombs to Ukraine, saying the controversial weapons – whose use by Russia has been criticized – could be useful on the battlefield, said an official, who did not want to be identified by name or nation of origin, on Wednesday. But what is a cluster bomb (BASM)? These ammunition are made up of a container, like a shell, containing explosive projectiles, of smaller size, called “sub-munitions”. Very imprecise, they strike a huge proportion of civilians.
Their use and transfer are prohibited by the Oslo Convention of 2008, signed by a large part of Western countries. But the Kremlin did not sign this treaty. The UN has already expressed alarm at Russia’s use of these weapons in populated areas since the start of the invasion of Ukraine last year.
NATO, Scandinavia and the F-16s
Despite overtures from Turkey, Finland assured Monday that it would not wish to join NATO without its neighbor Sweden, with whom it still hopes to join before the next summit of the alliance in July. The sharp diplomatic tensions between Stockholm and Ankara in recent weeks have raised questions about the way forward for Finland. However, without Ankara’s agreement, Sweden will not be able to join NATO, and therefore ultimately Finland. “I still see the NATO summit in Vilnius (July 11-12) as an important step, where I hope to see our two NATO member countries at the latest,” said Pekka Haavisto, the Finnish minister. Foreign Affairs.
The next meetings will also be an opportunity to address the subject of arms deliveries to Ukraine, particularly that of fighter planes. Poland would be willing to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine if there is a consensus within NATO, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Wednesday. “If there was a decision by all (member states) of NATO, I would be in favor of sending these fighter planes,” said Mateusz Morawiecki in an interview with the German daily. Picture.
Always water in the gas
After capping the prices of Russian crude oil and natural gas in December, the Europeans are holding final talks on Friday to set the prices at which they want to cap global transactions of Russian refined petroleum products alongside an EU embargo starting on Sunday .
The European Commission has proposed that, in transactions between Russia and third countries, the price of “premium” refined products (sold at a higher price than crude oil, such as diesel or kerosene) be capped at 100 dollars per barrel, and that of heavy products (fuel oil, etc.) at 45 dollars per barrel, according to a diplomatic source. Existing sanctions are “eroding the Russian economy”, said Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday, estimating that the Russian oil price cap was costing Moscow “around 160 million euros a day”.