The diplomatic effort to end the conflict in Ukraine was brought back to focus by Friday’s (31 March) announcement. This came as the United States promised more weapons to assist Kyiv in its counteroffensive preparations and Russian forces launched relentless attacks on Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.
After enduring a brutal, long-running offensive in eastern Ukraine, the military commanders of the country have stated that a counteroffensive is possible but stressed the importance to hold towns like Bakhmut and inflict losses while they wait.
Serhiy Zagrets, Director of Defense Express, stated that “the question of our counter-attack remains under active discussion in American and European political circles – perhaps to excess.”
According to a statement by Espreso TV, Ukrainian diplomats must convince their allies that one advance against Russian troops will not suffice for victory.
It will involve training our soldiers in NATO member states, securing ammunition and equipment, and planning to decide when and where to begin the counter-attack or if it should all be done at once.
After US President Joe Biden and him agreeing to engage China to speed up the end of the war, the French President Emmanuel Macron was scheduled to visit China on Wednesday.
In early 2022, Russia and China signed a “no limitations” partnership agreement. This was just weeks before President Vladimir Putin sent thousands of troops to Ukraine.
China has not criticised Putin’s decision but has offered a peace plan to Ukraine.
Zelenskiy will be heading to Poland. The organization has already taken in more than one million Ukrainian refugees during the past 13 months. NATO member also played a significant role in convincing other Western powers to supply Ukraine with battle tanks and other weapons.
‘ACT NOW’
On Tuesday (4 April), the United States unveiled $2.6 million more in military aid for President Volodymyr Zeleskiy. This includes three anti-tank rockets, fuel trucks, and air surveillance radars. Since Russia’s invasion, the U.S. has provided over $35 billion in military assistance to Ukraine.
“The most important thing is to not lose time and not lose the opportunity we have. Zelenskiy said via video link to the US National Governors Association, “Act now, help now.” “Ukrainian citizens act so Americans don’t need to fight – together we gain strength for our nations.”
According to Russian news agency TASS, the Russian embassy in America accused it of trying to prolong the conflict.
Russia claims that tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians, soldiers and police officers were killed in a special military operation to exterminate Nazism.
The West refers to war as an unprovoked attack to subdue an independent nation.
The Battle for Bakhmut was one of the most bloody of the conflict. Both sides suffered heavy losses and the city was largely destroyed.
Yevgeny Privozhin, the founder of Russia’s Wagner mercenary forces, claimed that his troops had recently captured the logistics and mining hub.
While Ukraine repeatedly denied Russian control of the city, they acknowledged that at least half.
“Enemy actions to storm the city of Bakhmut were not halted in the Bakhmut region. “In the last 24 hours, at least 20 enemy attacks have been repelled here,” the Ukrainian general staff reported in a Facebook report.
Near Bakhmut, 50km south, there were muddy dugouts used by Ukrainian soldiers to repel Russian attacks.
“They sneak in, fire and exhaust us. They then evaluate the situation and can continue to move forward for a bit more,” said “Bodia”, commander of infantry unit. “We try to get them closer so we can hit them better.
FINLAND JOINS NATO
On Tuesday, Ukraine welcomed the accession of the NATO alliance from Finland. This is 13 months after Russia invaded Ukraine. It was partly due to Russia’s aggressive expansion to the east.
Zelenskiy stated in his evening address that he congratulated all Finlanders. “Russian aggression clearly shows that only collective guarantees and only preventive guarantees can be reliable.”
After decades of strategic non-alignment, Russia’s invasion in Ukraine led the Finns to seek security through NATO’s collective defense pact. This essentially states that any attack on one member of NATO is an attack against all.
Russia, which has seen successive NATO expansion waves since the Cold War ended three decade ago, has said that it will also increase its military capabilities in its western and northern regions as a response to Finland’s accession.
Separately, the Kremlin stated that Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarussian president, would travel to Moscow on Wednesday (5 April) for two days’ talks with Putin.