Posted on 10/02/2022 5:00 am
(Credit: Genya Savilov/AFP)
The first news was that Ukrainian forces had surrounded 5,000 Russian soldiers in the Donetsk town of Lyman a region in the east of the country annexed by Vladimir Putin the day before. “We raise our national flag and place it on our territory. Lyman will always be a part of Ukraine,” one of Kiev’s military officials said in a video. Almost at the same moment the Moscow troops left the place. “Threatened with a siege, Allied troops retreated from Lyman to more favorable lines,” Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Faced with another victory on the front lines, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, a Kremlin ally, asked Putin to use the nuclear arsenal. “In my opinion, we should take more drastic measures, like imposing martial law on the border and using lowpower nuclear weapons,” he said in a statement sent via the Telegram app. “There is no need to make every decision with the Western community in mind.”
In an interview with the Courier, Peter Zalmayev director of the NGO Eurasia Democracy Initiative (in Kyiv) assessed the situation as rather ironic. “On Friday, Putin announced the annexation of 17% of Ukrainian territory. The annexed part was disputed by the Ukrainians. Lyman is an important center for several reasons. It opens the door to the rest of the Luhansk region,” he explained.
Salmayev said he learned from sources in Lyman that a large amount of weapons and missiles had been seized from the Ukrainians. “The capture of Lyman is a sign that Putin does not trust his generals who have proven inept. We learned that Putin made tactical decisions about the fighting in Ukraine; hence the result.”
fragility
Olexiy Haran, professor of comparative politics at KyivMohyla National University, finds it strange that Russia does not have full control over Donetsk and still has the territory in addition to Luhansk (also to the east) and Zaporizhia and Kherson (both to the southeast). “Administrative centers in Donetsk such as Kramatorsk, Sloviansk, Kostyantynivka and Druzhkivka are under Ukrainian rule. Now the Ukrainians have released Lyman.
Haran does not hide his concern at the announcement by Russian forces of the arrest of Ihor Murashov, director of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. “It is not known where he would be now. It is another incredible behavior of Russia towards nuclear targets. This creates a great danger for Europe and the world. Zaporizhia is the largest nuclear power plant on the continent.”
Pavel Podvig, a WMD specialist at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIdir), reminded the Courier that Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov was not the first to suggest using nuclear weapons. “Russian analysts and journalists have even called for attacks of this kind. One must remember that nuclear weapons have little military value. The idea that they are a magic wand that would solve problems is wrong. This arsenal isn’t useful in the field. “Fight,” he told the courier on the phone from Geneva.
On the front lines, Ukraine has accused Russian forces of shooting dead 24 civilians, including 13 children and a pregnant woman, during an ambush on a convoy near Kupiansk, a city recaptured from Ukraine. “The Russians shot at civilians at close range,” Kharkiv regional governor Oleg Synegubov condemned.
Brazil
Brazil abstained in a UN Security Council vote on a resolution condemning Russia’s annexation. Former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva commented on the fact on Twitter: “The only position that interests Brazil on the UkraineRussia issue is peace.”
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(FILES) In this December 8, 2018 file photo, head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov attends the plenary session of the 18th congress of the United Russia party in Moscow. The US State Department blacklisted the leader of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, on July 20, 2020 for alleged torture, extrajudicial killings and other violations dating back more than a decade. / AFP / Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV Photo: KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV
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Soldiers display the Ukrainian flag in the town of Lyman: Recapture Photo: Illia Ponomarenko/Twitter
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Credit: personal archive
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“On Friday, the UN Security Council voted on a resolution condemning the socalled annexations and calling on Russia to leave Ukrainian territory. Russia vetoed the text. Interestingly, China and Brazil unfortunately declared their abstention. I remember Brazil voting in favor of a resolution in March denouncing Russian aggression. We hope that Brazil will continue to support Ukraine’s territorial integrity.”
Olexiy Haran, Professor of Comparative Politics at KyivMohyla National University
“It is important to send a signal condemning the use of nuclear weapons and to ensure that the international community is united on this position. Brazil plays a role in this. In June, the countries joining the Nuclear Weapons Treaty issued a statement condemning any kind of nuclear threat. Brazil signed and ratified the agreement, but it did not become a formal part of the declaration. It will be very important for countries like Brazil, India and China to make their statement very clear that any threat to use a nuclear weapon is unacceptable.”
Pavel Podvig, expert on weapons of mass destruction at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIdir)