UPDATE ON THE SITUATION – The United States will finally vote on the $60 billion in aid that has been blocked in Congress for months, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Chmygal assured on Sunday.
Thousands of people demonstrated in France on Saturday to show their support for Ukraine, two years after Moscow's troops invaded the country. In Paris and around ten other French cities, Ukrainians and French people gathered, often draped in the yellow and blue flag of Ukraine, to express their solidarity but also their concern at a time when Kiev's armed forces, which lack weapons, are closing in and lack of ammunition, find themselves in a difficult situation. A very difficult situation for the Russian troops.
This Sunday, Ukraine is hosting a forum to mark Russia's two-year offensive, with Kiev reminding its Western allies of the importance of honoring their commitments to support their defense.
Ukraine reiterates its trust in its American ally
Ukraine is convinced that the United States will not “give up” in the face of Russia and will ultimately vote for $60 billion in aid that has been blocked in Congress for months, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said on Sunday.
“We are deeply convinced that the United States will not abandon Ukraine in terms of financial and military support,” Denys Chmygal said at a forum in Kiev dedicated to the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of that country.
Ukraine hopes to receive $11.8 billion from the US by 2024.
Ukraine is considering the possibility of a peace conference with Russia
Zelensky's chief of staff Andriy Yermak raised the possibility of a summit between Ukraine, its allies and Russia to discuss negotiations toward a peace deal. Switzerland will soon hold a peace conference with Zelensky, which could possibly be followed by another to which the Russians will also be invited. “There is a hypothesis according to which we could invite the Russian representatives if the aggressor country was ever really ready to end the war and conclude a just peace agreement,” he said.
In November 2022, Zelensky explained the conditions under which Ukraine would be ready for peace: the restoration of all Ukrainian territory and the complete withdrawal of Russian troops. As long as they have not left Ukrainian territory, Kiev is not ready to negotiate a peace agreement, he said.
“50% of obligations are not fulfilled on time”
Half of the Western weapons promised to Ukraine will be delivered late, Ukrainian Defense Minister Roustem Umerov said on Sunday. “Currently, an obligation does not equal fulfillment, 50% of these obligations are not fulfilled on time,” the minister said during a special forum marking the second anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Because of these delays, “we would lose people, we would lose territories,” he added. The Ukrainian army, which finds itself in an extremely difficult situation at the front, has just withdrawn from its fortress town of Avdiëvka (East) after months of hard fighting due to a lack of men and ammunition.
Also read: War in Ukraine: Why arms deliveries have not changed the situation
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly called on his Western allies in recent days to deliver military aid “on time,” particularly ammunition and more air defense systems. Nothing and fighter planes. The Ukrainian president also estimated that delays in arms deliveries contributed to the failure of the Kiev counteroffensive in the summer of 2023.
Rishi Sunak calls for frozen Russian assets to be seized
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Sunday urged Westerners to be “bolder” and seize frozen Russian assets to redistribute to Ukraine, arguing for the interest to be transferred to Kiev first. Loans from these assets. “We must be bolder and seize hundreds of billions of frozen Russian assets,” the British leader wrote in a Sunday Times column to mark the second anniversary of the Russian invasion.
“It starts with sending the billions in interest that these assets generate to Ukraine,” argues Rishi Sunak. “And then we have to find legal ways with the G7 to seize the assets ourselves and send these funds to Ukraine as well,” he added. “What a tribute it would be to Alexei Navalny’s fight to hold the Russian state accountable for his actions,” he added, referring to the recently deceased opponent. ©d in a prison in the Russian Arctic.
Also read: Washington unveils its biggest sanctions salvo against Russia since the war began
In their statement on Saturday following a virtual summit under the Italian presidency, the G7 leaders called on their governments to continue to work “on all possible ways through which Russian state assets can be used to support, in accordance with our respective legal systems and international law Ukraine.” They reiterate that “Russian state assets will remain immobilized in (their) jurisdictions until Russia pays for the damage caused to Ukraine.” On January 30, the European Union agreed to allocate 200 billion euros Russian central bank assets were frozen in the first stage of a plan aimed at influencing revenues from Russian assets frozen during Ukraine's reconstruction. The possibility of confiscating this money and using it to rebuild Ukraine is ruled out on the grounds that it would shock international markets and weaken the euro.
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