At present, the weapons of European and American countries’ military aid to Ukraine are increasing. In this regard, Russia warned against underestimating the huge risk of a nuclear conflict and the possibility of a third world war breaking out in Ukraine. In addition to Ukraine and the United Kingdom, Beijing also responded to Russia’s claims.
The Russian-Ukrainian war has entered a critical period. The U.S. defense minister invited more than 40 countries to discuss Ukraine’s defense. Germany also agreed for the first time to assist Ukraine with heavy military equipment. In addition, the United Nations will vote on the reform of the “veto power of the five permanent members” on the 26th; the Nordic countries Finland and Sweden said that they will simultaneously apply for NATO membership in mid-May, which is a result that Russia is very unwilling to see.
The destruction of the town of Udong is like a ghost town rumor that Russia plans to use “chemical weapons”, the capital Kyiv has a curfew for 5 days again
According to CNN, the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine is controlled by a Russian-backed separatist government and has been ravaged by fighting. A recent drone footage showed that one of the most intense battles between the two armies last week, the village of Novotoshkivka in Luhansk, is currently completely destroyed and looks like a ghost town, while Russia and Ukraine disagree.
The Russian-backed separatists claimed that the Ukrainians blew up everything in the village as they retreated. Serhiy Gaidai, an administrative official in Luhansk, said that the Ukrainian military had indeed retreated from the village, but the village was destroyed by Russian airstrikes. Guedet said last week that 80 percent of the territory in Luhansk Oblast was under Russian control and called for the evacuation of state residents.
In the long-besieged southern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, according to the Daily Mail, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry stated that the Russian army plans to use “chemical weapons” and will be currently trapped in the Azovstal steel plant (Azovstal). The soldiers and civilians were forced out by means of “smoke” to avoid the loss of Russian troops. It is rumored that in addition to the soldiers standing in the factory, there are still about 1,000 civilians taking refuge here.
In addition, Oleksandr Pavliuk, the governor of Ukraine’s capital Kiev region and the head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration, announced that in view of the “provocative actions” of the Russian army, Kyiv will be closed from April 25 to 29, according to “Sky News”. A five-day curfew was imposed, restricting people from walking on the streets from 22:00 pm to 5:00 am the next day, helping to protect civilians from “provocative actions” by the Russian army.
According to reports, the Russian army has withdrawn from the surrounding areas of Kyiv Oblast, and it is not clear what the reason is for the Kyiv Oblast to impose a curfew again. Ukrainian officials had previously said that saboteurs from Russia were operating in the capital, Kyiv, with the goal of taking the life of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the report said.
Kherson will repeat the Crimea script to be “independent”, the Russian army bombed Odessa’s important foreign bridge
Although the Kherson region in southern Ukraine was occupied by Russian troops, the local city council continued to operate for some time. However, “CNN” reported on April 26 that Kherson Mayor Igor Kolykhaev said that On the evening of the 25th local time, Russian armed personnel entered the city council building to take the keys and replaced the original guards. Subsequently, it was reported that under the instigation of the Russian side, Kherson was preparing to hold a referendum, asking the people to vote on its “independence”, and preparing to repeat the script of Crimea and Udon.
In February 2014, Russia sent troops to invade the Crimea Peninsula, which is internationally recognized as Ukrainian territory. On March 16 of the same year, Crimea held a similar referendum, providing a good excuse for Russia to annex Crimea. In addition, the separatist governments of the Udon Donetsk and Luhansk regions also launched a referendum on “autonomy” in May 2014, requesting to join the Russian Federation. In February this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the recognition of Udon and the two states. The state became independent, and it didn’t take long to send troops to invade Ukraine.
Now Russia intends to copy the script and make the Kherson region the “Kherson People’s Republic” and then a Russian Union Republic. In this regard, Zelensky denounced: “Russia wants to hold a fake ‘referendum’ in a certain area of our land, which is as shameful as the other reasons the Moscow government has fabricated in the past to invade Ukraine!”
In addition, the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa (Odessa) continued to be attacked by Russian troops. The mayor’s office pointed out on the 26th that the Zatoka Bridge (Zatoka Bridge), an important expatriate beam in the area, was forced to close due to serious damage to the Russian bombing.
The bridge is an important external bridge in Odessa. If it cannot be repaired in a short time, or if it is controlled by the Russian army, Odessa and other parts of Ukraine may be interrupted or even isolated from traffic.
Invasion prelude?Moldova’s pro-Russian rebel region rumored to have continuous bombings, the president urgently convened a national security meeting
After Russia invaded Ukraine, neighboring Moldova, which is located west of Odessa, seems to have also become a target of Russian invasion. There have been frequent explosions in the pro-Russian rebel region “Transnistria” in Morocco. As the situation there has become tense. Moldovan President Maia Sandu called an emergency national security conference.
Russian media reported on the 25th that continuous explosions were heard near the “Tiraspol” Ministry of Homeland Security building in the “Nester River” area. Damaged; “along the Nestor River”, the Ministry of the Interior said in a statement: “In the morning of April 26, two reports were reported from the village of Mayak in the Grigoriopolsky region. Explosion.” The radio tower was suspected of being attacked.
However, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has already warned that the local explosion was a “planned provocative action” by Russian secret services.
In this regard, the Eastern European online media “NEXTA” pointed out on its official Twitter that as the situation in the “Neste River” area became tense, President Sandu of Moldova had urgently convened a national security meeting to respond; Sandu said that there was no blockade of “Nestu”. He also supports peaceful settlement of disputes in the area along the “Riverside”, Morocco is raising the national security level, and there are currently no plans to hold talks with Putin.
In addition, there is also a flood of evacuation vehicles in the area “along the Nestor River”, which is likely to enter Moldova.
Last Friday (April 22), the Russian army threatened to take full control of Udong and Unan, and to establish a passage to the “Republic along the Nestor River”. The Moldovan foreign ministry then summoned the Russian ambassador to express concern. In this regard, Zelensky once again warned that Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is only the beginning. The Moscow authorities have already planned to occupy other countries, and Ukraine is only the first to bear the brunt.
Including Russia, the sovereignty of the “Nestrian Republic” has never been recognized, but Russia has stationed 1,500 soldiers there on “peacekeeping” grounds and guards a large Soviet-era ammunition depot.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned on the 25th that the situation in Ukraine risks the outbreak of a third world war. He said NATO’s supply of weapons to Ukraine essentially meant the West was engaged in a proxy war with Russia, choking the world‘s underestimation of the huge risk of a nuclear conflict.
In response, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba responded on Twitter on the 26th: “Russia has lost its last hope of intimidating the world against Ukraine. Therefore, the “real” danger of a third world war only represents Moscow’s feelings to the defeat in Ukraine”, calling on the world to redouble its support for Ukraine in order to “win-win”, help them win and preserve European and global security.
Regarding Lavrov’s remarks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin responded at a regular press conference on the 26th, “No one wants to see a third world war break out. We hope all parties concerned will remain calm and restrained to prevent the situation from escalating. Achieving peace as soon as possible and avoiding a higher price for Europe and the world.”
Wang Wenbin said, “Under the current situation, all parties must first support dialogue and negotiation to prevent conflicts from expanding and protracted. At the same time, they should also reflect on why Europe has fallen back into the whirlpool of geopolitical conflicts more than 30 years after the end of the Cold War, and how to build a balance, An effective and sustainable European security architecture, reflecting on how to strengthen the global security governance system.”
James Heappey, the official in charge of the British Armed Forces, said the West had planned carefully to avoid a direct confrontation with Russia. Harper believes that Lavrov’s remarks are bluffing and does not see an imminent threat of escalation; but Lavrov’s remarks may reflect that Ukraine is now at war because Russia “fished the border” and invaded another sovereign state. territory.
Harper clarified that although NATO has continued to strengthen its east wing, it has not provided military assistance as an organization. The efforts of the donors are to gather the strength of several countries, many of them from NATO countries, but also from other countries; The argument that attacking Ukraine in this way is in response to a NATO invasion is utter nonsense.”
In addition, the Russian news agency “TASS” reported that Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Yevgeny Ivanov said on the 25th that since the special military operation against Ukraine, a total of 400 Russian diplomats have been expelled from 28 Western countries, including Poland. , Germany, Slovenia, Slovakia, Croatia, France, Italy and Spain, adding that Western countries have turned to isolating Russia in various fields.
The Russian-Ukrainian war has entered a critical period
According to a report by Reuters, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (Lloyd Austin), after his meeting with Zelensky on the 25th, went to the “Ramstein Air Base” (Ramstein Air Base) of the U.S. military in Germany to preside over the 26th. Ukraine defense talks, the meeting invited more than 40 countries to participate. The list was not disclosed, but it is believed that NATO members and countries with “values similar to those of the United States” were invited.
“As we saw this morning, nations around the world came together to express their determination to support Ukraine against Russian imperial aggression,” Austin said. “Ukraine clearly believes it can overcome, and so does everyone here.”
Austin vowed that the United States would “do everything in its power” to help Ukraine, with the goal of “helping Ukraine overcome unprovoked Russian aggression and strengthening Ukraine’s ability to defend against future challenges”.
Mark Milley, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, pointed out that the talks focused on coordinating and synchronizing security assistance to Ukraine, including heavy weapons, defense systems, ammunition, etc. At the moment, the next few weeks are very critical, Ukraine needs continued support from all countries to win on the battlefield, and that is the real purpose of this meeting.”
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that in addition to discussing the latest battlefield assessment of the Russian army in eastern Ukraine and Ukrainian military supplies, the meeting will also discuss the country’s post-war defense needs.
“Reuters” reported that German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (Christine Lambrecht) on the 26th at an international defense ministers’ meeting attended by more than 40 countries said that the government has approved the German arms dealer Krauss-Maffeiwei Gehmann Co., Ltd. Company (Krauss-Maffei Wegmann), handing over the stock of “Gepard” anti-aircraft combat vehicles to Ukraine.
This is the first time since the Russian-Ukrainian war that Germany has supported Ukraine with heavy military equipment, showing a clear shift in Berlin’s policy of cautious military support for Kyiv.
Marcel Dirsus, a non-resident researcher at the Institute for Security Policy at Kiel University in Germany, commented on the German government’s move. “What’s really important about this move is not the impact the cheetah has on the battlefield, but the message it sends: Europe’s largest economy is getting serious about aid to Ukraine, and more aid is expected in the future,” he said.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been criticized at home and abroad for refusing to directly supply Ukraine with heavy weapons.
According to a draft document seen by AFP on the 26th, the three parties in Germany’s ruling coalition plan to propose a proposal in parliament calling on the government to “continue and, if possible, accelerate the provision of necessary armaments to Ukraine, including expanding to heavy weapons and complex systems. “
In addition, France has decided to provide Kyiv with Caesar cannons with a range of 40 kilometers; Britain will provide Starstreak anti-aircraft missiles and combat vehicles.
According to Reuters, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere announced on the 26th that the government will allocate $43.7 million to fund a British-sponsored military aid plan for Ukraine.
Stoll told Congress that, in addition to the weapons it had previously supplied Ukraine, Norway could also send more directly to Ukraine.
The United Nations also said on the 26th that as the situation in Ukraine deteriorated, the amount of international aid the organization called for more than doubled.
“Ukraine needs more than $2.25 billion. This is more than double the amount we called for aid on March 1 ($1.1 billion) at the beginning of the war,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement.
The United Nations will vote on the reform of the “veto power of the five permanent members”, Finland and Sweden will simultaneously apply for NATO membership in mid-May
The “AFP” reported that the rationality of the veto power of the permanent members of the UN Security Council has been questioned for a long time. This time, because Russia itself is one of the five permanent members (the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China), the United Nations is in handling the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Obstructed everywhere. In view of this, the United Nations General Assembly will vote on the 26th local time to decide whether to reform the veto power of the five permanent members. It is expected that the United States, Britain and France will vote in favor.
This veto reform was proposed by Liechtenstein, which requires the five permanent members to present and explain their justifications when mobilizing their voting rights, so as to increase the political price of the five permanent members when they use their veto. Liechtenstein said it was a “simple procedural reform”.
About 60 countries have signed the proposal, and it is the only member of the five permanent members, including the United States. The quickness of the statement surprised the United Nations. While the UK and France are not on the list of co-signers, they are expected to vote in favour.
However, the report also raised hidden concerns. In addition to being unclear whether the use of the veto power by the five permanent countries can really be restricted, there may also be a situation where a certain country in the five permanent countries, knowing the opponent’s position, deliberately put forward a controversial proposal to force the other party to exercise the veto power. This increases the political burden. One of the Chinese and Russian diplomats criticized that the reform will only make the United Nations more divided in the future.
In addition, the “Associated Press” reported that Finland’s “Evening News” (Iltalehti) said on the 25th that the Swedish government has expressed to Finland that it hopes that the two countries will apply to join NATO within a week from May 22. The source also confirmed the news to the Swedish newspaper Expressen.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, support for joining NATO has grown in Finland and Sweden in northern Europe, despite constant threats from Russia, warning of “consequences”.
It is obvious that Russia has not yet achieved a victory in this so-called special military operation, but it has achieved a very unwilling result.