In securing another six years in power, President Vladimir Putin may seek to expand a buffer zone within Ukrainian territory to prevent drones and other long-range weapons from attacking Russian territory. suggested that there is.
Putin said Russia could try to create a “cordon” between Russia and Ukraine, potentially hinting at the ultimate goal of war. Said According to state media, this will “make it extremely difficult for the enemy to overcome with mainly foreign-origin weapons.”
Russia currently controls about 20 percent of Ukraine’s territory, which is almost entirely concentrated in the Donbas and Crimea in southeastern Ukraine, with a so-called buffer zone along some 400 kilometers of the border with Ukraine. Not left. Potentially reinforcing Putin’s rhetoric at home on the matter is Ukraine’s recent ground offensive against parts of Russia’s border areas, which amount to a counter-invasion attempt by paramilitary groups. .
Additionally, Kiev has used Western-supplied Storm Shadow, ATACMS, GLSDB, and Himal missiles to attack Russian-controlled territory, in addition to launching drones and shelling targets such as refineries and other infrastructure on the Russian mainland. It is also working on attacking targets. .
Given that the much-heralded Ukrainian counterattack failed to retake any meaningful part of the territory, and given widespread reports of ammunition shortages, Moscow took the opportunity this spring to attack even more of northeastern Ukraine. Possibility of occupying territory. Blocking access to Russian targets such as Belgorod, Kursk and Bryansk.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that the Russian government “will take measures to ensure security.” [its] “Territory” by Ukrainian artillery and drone attacks.
With Ukraine clearly at a disadvantage, there is growing debate in the West over strategy and desired outcomes. Last week in the German Bundestag, Rolf Mützenich, leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) – the same party as Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said Western countries should seek to “freeze” the conflict to avoid further bloodshed and further losses. He suggested that. To Russia.
Rolf Mützenich during a discussion on sending long-range missiles to Ukraine Said: “Isn’t it time to not only talk about how to fight wars, but also think about how to freeze them and end them later? Aren’t these questions also important politically? ?”
Ukraine launches drone attack on Russia on final day of presidential electionhttps://t.co/60dWxagBS2
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) March 17, 2024
He won the support of former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, considered one of Putin’s closest allies and who made a fortune serving on the board of a Russian energy company, but left the rest of Berlin’s ruling class behind. People accused Mutzenich of suggesting that: It might be better to freeze the lines of conflict now.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius Said He said it would “ultimately only help Putin, and the West must not be complacent with the ravages of war, but there can be no peace that is ordered or that leads to it,” according to NTV. A cease-fire or freeze would ultimately make Putin stronger and able to continue the conflict whenever he wants. ”
It is also unclear whether Kiev is willing to freeze the current lines of conflict unless it is under significant pressure from the West, with President Zelenskiy’s government refusing to stick to the 1991 borders recognized by the United Nations. I have a strong opinion that we must have one. , as established at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union, was respected.
To do so, Russia will not only retreat from its entrenched positions in Donbas, but also from the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014 in what it believed was a Western-backed coup against the democratically elected Russian government. There will be a need. Viktor Yanukovych of Ukraine.
While Kyiv’s foreign supporters may not privately believe that Ukraine has a meaningful chance of taking back Crimea (which Russia now claims is Russian territory), French President Emmanuel Macron It recently supported Zelenskiy on this request. saying It means Kiev needs to regain control of Crimea. “Eternal peace”.President Macron also caused shockwaves in both countries. It put pressure on Russia and the West by suggesting that NATO forces could be sent to Ukraine and directly engage Russian forces.
Following his “victory” in last weekend’s presidential elections, President Putin celebrated the 10th anniversary of Crimea’s “return to the common family.”
“The people of Sevastopol, the Crimeans, are our pride. They retained their faith in the Motherland for decades. They never left Russia, and thanks to that Crimea is our We were able to return to our common family,” he said. Saidadded that this also applies to the peoples of Novorossia and Donbass, indicating that there is no intention to cede such territory to Ukraine in any peace agreement.
Italy warns that sending NATO troops to Ukraine could lead to ‘World War III’, accuses Macron of using conflict for political purposeshttps://t.co/SBKHewLyy4
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) March 18, 2024
