Words about peace: some - sincere, others – perfidious
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu: “We notice positive signals as to the possibility of a negotiation process”.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Zelensky’s demands to withdraw the Russian troops to the positions before the invasion do not suit the Russian side and Ukraine should change approaches so that Russia could take these as starting points.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was vital that President Zelenskyy was not pressured into accepting a bad peace, noting that bad peace deals do not last. He noted the world must avoid any outcome where Putin’s unwarranted aggression appears to have paid off.
According to the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Alexei Danilov, if the Ukrainian society does not accept negotiations with Russia, a difficult situation may begin inside Ukraine. “First, we need to consult with the public.”
President Volodymyr Zelenski said some Western politicians, media push Ukraine towards unfavorable peace, but he does not have such talks with anyone.
Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger, at the Globsec 2022 Forum in Bratislava, called on everyone to help Ukraine defend democracy and freedom. “It's our duty to help Ukraine win so that we can win with them,” said Heger, adding that Putin currently doesn't give Ukraine the opportunity to sit at a negotiating table. “You ask if they can negotiate. But what? For Ukraine to hand over its territory to Russia because Russia thinks it’s right?” asked Heger.
Ukrainian MP David Arakhamia, who heads the team of negotiators, said there is little sense in negotiating with Moscow until there is a major shift on the battlefields of Ukraine and until Ukraine does not have a unified negotiation position.
Harsh fighting in Severodonetsk
Sergei Gaidai, the head of the Ukrainian military administration in Luhansk, said that the Russian army withdrew the Buryats, soldiers from Siberia, from the city of Severodonetsk because they “fell like flies”.
“It simply came to our notice then. The racists have removed the last Buryats from Severodonetsk because they cannot stand the fight with the Ukrainian defenders. Fierce fighting continues inside Severodonetsk. The Buryats have withdrawn because they are much weaker than our defenders, “Gaidai said.
Also, fighting continues in Lisichansk, Gorskaya and Popasnyanskaya.
While Ukraine fights, NATO is always prepared
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will be invited to the NATO summit to be held in Madrid on June 28-30, the EFE agency reported.
According to the agency, the Spanish government is completing preparations for the summit, but its final program has not yet been approved by the leadership of the alliance. After that, Zelensky will be given an invitation
The Kremlin is waiting for the moment when Ukraine's allies will get tired of the war and stop supporting the AFU so actively, said British Ambassador to Ukraine Melinda Simmons.
According to Simmons, there has already begun to be certain war weariness especially in the Western media. For example, the anniversary of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II in Britain “overshadowed” the news about the situation in Ukraine.
She also added that the most difficult period for Ukraine in 2022 will be from late fall to late winter, because that is when Russia will start blackmailing the West with gas exports..
It happens so when criminals grab power
The government of Ukraine will make every effort to ensure release of the foreign mercenaries that were sentenced to death by a court in the DPR for participating in hostilities as part of the Ukrainian armed forces, Oleg Nikolenko, spokesman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, said on Thursday.
“Such public trials undermine the mechanisms for the return of prisoners of war,” he told the RBC-Ukraine news service.
He also said that all foreigners fighting in the armed forces of Ukraine are enlisted as Ukrainian military servicemen. “They are covered by the legal status of combatants," the spokesman said. “All servicemen of the armed forces of Ukraine who are captured by the enemy enjoy the rights of prisoners of war.”
British Foreign Minister Truss condemned the sentence of British citizens to death in the DPR, calling this court decision fictitious and illegitimate.
“I categorically condemn the sentencing of Aiden Eslin and Sean Pinner, who are being held by Russian proxies in eastern Ukraine. They are prisoners of war. This is a fictitious sentence, completely without legality. My thoughts are with the families. We continue to do our best to support them,” the British Foreign Minister said in a statement.
In Kherson, life is better than in their large homeland
In Kherson and some cities in the region, information has been coming out that the military occupiers are bringing their families over in an attempt to convince the locals that they will be there forever.
The occupiers’ families make no secret of their admiration for the standard of living in the Kherson region, which, even after more than 100 days of occupation, is many times higher than in their native Russian regions.
The adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak, warned against “slacking sanctions” imposed on Russia. In a statement on Twitter, he wrote: “Attempts to 'legalize' occupied territories must receive a harsh sanctions response. “Kremlin must understand the price of each bloody step.”
