Ukraine war
Putin talks about peace in China, but does nothing for it
Among friends: Putin got support from China for his war in Ukraine for two days
© Sergei Guneyev/Pool Sputnik Kremlin/AP / DPA
At the end of his trip to China, Kremlin leader Putin affirmed that he was interested in peace negotiations in the Ukraine war. Nevertheless, he continues the shelling of Kharkiv. He also rejects ceasefires. Meanwhile, Ukraine is working on a peace summit without Russia.
Russia wants the city of Kharkiv in the northeast Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin has now declared that he will not occupy Ukraine. He is supposedly only interested in a buffer zone. Putin told Russian state media at the end of his two-day visit to China that he had no plan to take Kharkiv. In Harbin, he opened the eighth joint Russian-Chinese trade fair together with China’s Vice President Han Zheng. The day before, he had visited President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
The Ukrainian city of Kharkiv has been under heavy shelling for weeks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj visited the city on Thursday and spoke of stabilizing the situation. The Russians had only reached the first of three defense lines, Zelensky said.
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Putin stated that Russia is currently setting up a buffer zone there because the Russian Belgorod region is being bombarded with drones and missiles from Kharkiv. Ukraine has itself to blame for the recent massive blows against the Kharkiv region because it repeatedly attacks Russian territory. As expected, Putin left out the fact that the Ukrainian strikes serve to defend against the aggressor Russia, which has invaded Ukraine.
Ukraine bombards Russia with drones
The authorities in Belgorod recently reported massive drone attacks from the Ukrainian side. Among other things, a car was hit and a woman and her four-year-old son were killed, said Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. Other regions also reported drone attacks from the Ukrainian side and there were several fires. However, Kharkiv has been under massive shelling by Russian troops since the beginning of the war.
Because the leadership in Moscow repeatedly refers to Kharkiv as a Russian city, many experts assume that the Kremlin also wants to annex the region. Putin denied this for the first time with the caveat that it was not currently planned.
Putin praises China and criticizes peace summit on Ukraine war
At the end of his trip to China, Putin expressly praised Beijing’s efforts to end the conflict over Ukraine – although he himself has control over the end by withdrawing the invasion troops. He said he spoke in detail with party and state leader Xi Jinping about the war. China describes itself as neutral in the conflict, but is considered a supporter of Russia. In addition, trade relations have strengthened since the Ukraine war: While the Russians now mostly buy Chinese cars, China is taking gas from the Russians – and there could be even more if Putin can actually implement his plan to build another pipeline to China.
At the end of the trip, Putin also addressed the Ukraine peace summit planned in Switzerland. The Kremlin chief explained that the conference planned for June 15 and 16 near Lucerne was an attempt to impose conditions on Russia to end the conflict.
The West hopes for China’s participation in the Ukraine peace summit
Ukraine and the West hope that China will send a representative to the summit in Switzerland to give the meeting more weight. Speaking to journalists in Kiev, Zelensky said that many states would take part in the meeting. He reminded that China also supports the territorial integrity of Ukraine and has no understanding for annexations in the country. The aim of the summit in Switzerland is a communiqué for a solution to the conflict. Ukraine wants to achieve energy security and an exchange of all prisoners, said Zelensky.
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Putin criticized Russia for not being invited to the meeting but constantly facing accusations of not attending. He is ready to negotiate. Russia’s allies also said the summit would have no meaning if both warring parties did not take part.
France proposes ceasefire in Ukraine war at Olympics
Zelensky and Putin spoke separately about the French idea of a ceasefire during the Summer Olympics in Paris. The details of the initiative were not clear to him, especially since Russia could use the opportunity to move more military technology towards Ukraine, said Zelensky, according to the online newspaper “Ukrainskaya Pravda”.
The Ukrainian head of state emphasized again that there had already been a ceasefire, but that it was not working with the Russian enemy. There is also the question of “who will ensure that their forces do not advance on us during a ceasefire.” The president warned that it would be possible to move technology during this time and then launch an attack. “So I don’t understand the details. To me it sounds like a non-viable story so far.”
Both sides show little interest in a ceasefire
Kremlin chief Putin said that Xi had raised the issue with him. Putin himself did not comment further on the content of his conversation. He criticized the fact that the West is demanding that Russia adhere to an Olympic peace agreement, but is not adhering to the Olympic spirit by excluding Russian athletes.
The Kremlin had previously expressed doubts about one of the French initiatives because Ukraine could use the Games period from July 26 to August 11 to regroup its armed forces for war.
The idea of Olympic Peace dates back to antiquity, but was also incorporated into the revival of the Games in modern times. All hostilities should cease during the sporting event. However, the commandment has been violated several times in the past.