STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT. The war in Ukraine has accelerated Russia’s long-term internal trajectory towards authoritarianism, the UK’s defence ministry has said. In recent weeks, the Duma has started the process to introduce a 20-year sentence for Russians who fight against the Russian Federation,” the ministry said in its intelligence briefing on Twitter.
Although speaking out against the invasion is being criminalised and despite the majority of Russians saying they support what Moscow calls its “special military operation”, many Russians are passively and actively showing opposition, the UK said.
“Migration applications suggest that 15,000 Russian millionaires (in US dollars) are likely already attempting to leave the country,” it said, adding that were this exodus to continue, it would exacerbate the war’s damage to Russia’s economy.
Leaders of France, Italy, Germany and Romania visit Ukraine to pledge support, back Kyiv’s bid to join EU as Zelenskyy calls for more weapons. Ukraine has asked for more weapons to turn the tide of the war decisively in its favour after enduring losses of 100-200 soldiers a day in a fierce battle for control of its eastern Donbas region. EU leaders, meanwhile, have grappled with keeping domestic opinion onside as the economic costs of the war and rising prices hit home. “We appreciate the support already provided by partners, we expect new deliveries, primarily heavy weapons, modern rocket artillery, anti-missile defence systems,” Zelenskyy said.
“Every day of delay or delayed decisions is an opportunity for the Russian military to kill Ukrainians or destroy our cities,” he said. “There is a direct correlation: the more powerful weapons we get, the faster we can liberate our people, our land.
During the talks, Zelenskyy pressed for a seventh EU sanctions package that includes an embargo on Russian gas. The visit coincided with Russia reducing supplies via its Nord Stream pipeline in what Berlin saw as a political move.
After earlier batting away suggestions of being soft on Russia, Macron said the West would not demand any concessions from Ukraine and that the circumstances of peace talks would be on Kyiv’s terms.
Zelenskyy, who has not left Ukraine since the invasion and was dressed in a khaki t-shirt, has voiced gratitude for the West’s help, though his administration also previously berated allies for dragging their feet on sanctions and arms supplies.
“My colleagues and I came here to Kyiv today with a clear message: ‘Ukraine belongs to the European family,’” Scholz said, while Macron said, “We all four support the immediate EU candidate status” for Ukraine. For his part, Draghi said: “The most important message of our visit is that Italy wants Ukraine in the EU.”
Meanwhile in separate place, Russia’s foreign minister has said that his country “didn’t invade Ukraine”. “We declared a special military operation because we had absolutely no other way of explaining to the West that dragging Ukraine into NATO was a criminal act,” Sergei Lavrov told the BBC.
When asked about Russia’s relationship with the United Kingdom, Lavrov said there was no room for manoeuvre anymore. “Because Johnson and Truss claim publicly that ‘we must defeat Russia’, ‘We must bring it to its knees’. Well, go on, do it,” he said.
Meanwhile in East Jakarta, foreign issue observer, Ertama said the UK defence ministry trajectory about “Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine” such as bizarre trajectory because the United Kingdom was forgot that the main factor which was triggered the conflict of Ukraine-Russia is the plan of NATO including European countries to offer Ukraina join in NATO.
“The current facts is the meeting several EU leaders from Germany, French, Italy and Romania with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has shown that the intervention of foreign country in the problems between Russo and Ukraine,” said Ertama.
Further Ertama explained that special military operation which has been doing by Russia in Ukraine just only Russia’s reaction and counter reaction to whatever foreign maneuvre which can disturb Russia’s territory in the next time. (Red/many sources)
