Ukraine is preparing to send prisoners to war too. Meanwhile, Russia is slowing down its offensive in the Kharkiv region, while sending ambivalent messages. From China, President Vladimir Putin shows an apparent openness to negotiation. From Moscow, in the same hours, new threats rain down towards the US and the EU.
On the field, after a week of very high tension due to the Russian offensive in the Kharkiv oblast, the situation in the region seems to be stabilising. Russia slows down, the Ukrainian wall holds thanks to the sending of men and equipment. Kiev’s army, in difficulty during the winter and spring due to a lack of weapons and ammunition, seems destined to expand in the coming weeks. After the mobilization that will bring hundreds of thousands of men aged between 25 and 26 to the front, the green light has been given to a new measure.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed the decree approving the new law which will allow prisoners convicted of minor crimes to obtain release on the condition of enlisting in the Armed Forces. The controversial measure was adopted after the Kiev government tried in various ways to strengthen its ability to send new forces to the front, after more than two years of conflict. Parliament approved by a large majority the law which excludes from the mobilization those convicted of murder, attacks on state security and corruption.
Putin and messages from China
Ukraine works for a long and hard war against an enemy that continues to pour men to the front. Russia has apparently slowed down operations in the Kharkiv region. According to experts and analysts, Moscow does not have men and means for a real large-scale offensive and could be content with creating a buffer zone to force the Ukrainian units to retreat: in this way, Kiev’s forces would not have the possibility of hitting controlled territories by the Russians.
The scenario is also put forward by Putin, during his visit to China, with apparently prudent statements. The operations in the direction of Kharkiv “are a response to the bombing of border areas, including Belgorod, where civilians are killed. For this reason, if things continue in this way, we are forced to create a security zone. To date we have no plans regarding Kharkiv”.
The Russian president answers questions about the possibility of dialogue with Ukraine. Russia, he said, has never refused to negotiate. It would be Ukrainian politicians who scuppered the diplomatic solution because in the initial phase of the war they “withdrew from the negotiation process”, as soon as Russian troops were withdrawn from Kiev. “We have been deceived once again,” Putin says. “Now we need to understand who we should be dealing with and how. Who and to what extent we can trust. And, of course, we are analyzing everything that is happening.”
Putin claims that when Russian troops were close to Kiev, Western partners insisted they withdraw: “No document can be signed if the opposing side holds a gun to your head,” they allegedly argued. “The next day they threw our agreements in the dustbin and said: ‘Well, now we will fight to the end,’” Putin adds. Dialogue, according to Putin, cannot take off with Zelensky. According to the Kremlin, the mandate of the Ukrainian president expires on May 20: “If it comes to signing some documents, we will have to sign them, in such an important area, with the legitimate authorities. This is obvious.” Ukraine, as is known, was supposed to hold presidential elections in March, but the vote was canceled because martial law is in force in the country due to the Russian invasion.
Moscow, new threats to the US and EU
If Putin comes with jabs and apparent openings, Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry, keeps tensions high from Moscow. “On May 16 and 17, the neo-Nazi regime in Kiev launched another massive attack with fixed-wing drones and unmanned boats against Crimea, the Krasnodar region and other Russian regions. Once again, we would like to unequivocally warn Washington, London, Brussels and other Western capitalsas well as Kiev, which is under their control, who are playing with fire: Russia will not leave such invasions on its territory unanswered,” he says.
For Zakharova, behind these attacks would be the Americans and the British who assist Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky: “Not only do they provide him with increasingly long-range missiles and heavy weapons – she adds – but they also give the green light to their use against Russia, thus contributing to the further escalation of the conflict. The Banderovite clique (from Stepan Bandera, a Ukrainian ultranationalist, a particularly controversial figure, ed.) seems to believe in its own impunity, amidst the visits of Western emissaries, who have often visited Kiev”, he concluded.
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