Russia continues on its attack to Ukraine as Zelenski claims EU to accept his country
President of Ukraine, Volodímir Zelensky. X@Zelensky
Kremlin has confirmed that Russia will celebrate elections in March 2024 including the occupied areas in Ukraine
By Javier López-Cuervo
Ukraine has notified today, December 8, news that will undoubtedly condition its status in the current war against Russia. While the Kremlin continues to attack the skies of Kiev through air control, Zelensky's forces have seen how the proposal of the president of the United States, Joe Biden, to send funds to support the Ukrainian country during the conflict has been denied in the North American Senate. Biden had requested significant aid to be sent to support Ukraine during the course of the war, but, due to the existing rivalry in the US Parliament between Republicans and Democrats, the project has not gone ahead and the funds that the president had assured that would go to Ukraine will have to wait for now.
Likewise, the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelensky, insists that a fundamental point for the resolution of the conflict is the inclusion of Ukraine in the European Union, a decision that he has been demanding since February 2022, when Russian troops violently entered the soil of the neighbouring country. This measure, however, is not easy, since several of the twenty-seven members of the highest European international body urge seeking other solutions, and argue that they “should not give in either.” This is the case of the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, who has expressed on numerous occasions his position against the decisions taken within the Union. “Let's not dance to their tune,” stated some billboards during protests in Hungary against EU. President Orbán says that he “is not at all convinced” that subsidizing Ukraine to obtain more weapons could lead to an armistice.
The Hungarian leader points out that all the money sent to Ukraine, in total about 100 billion euros, could have been used for the economic development of Europe, which, at the moment, is limping after the last few years of crisis and pandemic, according to what he claims. And he highlights that the solution to the conflict between Moscow and Kyiv does not lie in giving more funds and aid to Zelensky's Army, but in proclaiming a ceasefire. “Money is being sent to the Ukrainian Navy to win the war, and it is not winning,” he asserts, while stating that “they should not finance the war, but a ceasefire”.
Elections 17th of March
Meanwhile, the Russian Federation Council has announced the call for general elections for next March 17, in a vote in the Upper House of Parliament, which has concluded the date for the next elections. The current president and favourite candidate to be re-elected, Vladimir Putin, has not yet confirmed his presence for the presidential elections, although it is true that the drift of recent years in Kremlin politics seems to indicate that Putin will stay until 2036 as Russia’s president.
On the other hand, the G7 (Group of Seven) has expressed its support for Ukraine, and condemns that Russia continues to attack cities in Ukraine. They insist that penalties for “war crimes” should be increased for President Putin and for Russia.
The professor of History and Journalism at Universidad Francisco de Vitoria (Madrid) and expert in international relations, Isidoro Jiménez Zamora, asserts that there are parts of the war that “are not going as Putin wanted" and that "his strategic errors and Western arms support to Ukraine have made their initial plans fail”. For a time, he explains, “the Ukrainian counteroffensive may have been somewhat surprising, but it was seen coming due to the wear and tear of the Russian forces and the resistance of Ukraine which, as time has passed, has managed to stop the Russian advance and even, as we have seen, recover territories in the eastern zone.” Although he adds: “Despite everything, Russian military strength remains superior”.
Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the progressive advance of Russian troops, which in March 2022 seemed to be advancing at lightning speed, has reduced their power. However, in the last few hours, it has been observed how Russia once again has control of most of the enclaves of the war conflict. Last Thursday, the forces of the invading country launched an unprecedented kamikaze drone attack that seriously affected several facilities and infrastructure on Ukrainian soil. Of the 48 weapons that were sent by the Russian Army, only seven exploded against their target, although they did so leaving significant damage to a maritime building and some warehouses, in addition to ending the life of one person.
Two days ago, Russian authorities found in Moscow the body of a former Ukrainian deputy of the Socialist Party, who was a Russian sympathizer and contrary to the ideals of the Ukrainian president. According to the investigation carried out, the politician was shot in the head and the Russian Investigative Committee has already opened an investigation to find the possible perpetrator. Ukrainian minister of Defence, Andrii Yusov, has warned that “Putin's sycophants will suffer the same fate as traitors of Ukraine.”
However, there are several experts who agree on the idea that it is not good to underestimate Putin. The doctor in History and expert in geopolitics Javier Cervera assures that the validity of the Russian president in office means that he is more than accustomed to all types of situations, including the conflict with Ukraine. “Putin has been in power for more than twenty-two years. During this time, he has been in charge of ending or neutralizing any type of foreign opposition and has prevented the organization of movements against him,” he comments. And, in relation to whether there is any hint of detraction towards Putin within his own country, he highlights that “it is not easy to demonstrate in the streets of Moscow or Saint Petersburg against the authorities, because you can end up in jail. It remains to be seen if this could be the origin of a larger movement, but today it is a minority that dares to protest, while some pockets of internal opposition in the president's apparatus are growing very slowly”. He concludes by underlining that “Putin continues to control Russia's political, military and economic space without major fissures.”
In the last few hours, Ukraine has published that there are 19,540 children deported by Russia. The Ukrainian Ombudsman, Dmitro Lubinets, has lamented this figure: “Currently there are more than 19,540 officially confirmed deported Ukrainian children. If we return one child every day, we will need 55 years”. And he points out that the Kremlin “continues to deport more and more groups of Ukrainian children from their territory every day”.