“Sure, I think Putin is using this as a smokescreen, buying time to reorganize … and sending false, misleading messages around the world,” he said. “We feel that these are not real peace talks at this point,” said MP Anastasia Radina, who heads the parliament’s Anti-Corruption Policy Committee. “We feel that what Russia is doing is trying to save face. They say they are withdrawing troops from the Kiev region. This is not true for one simple reason. They are not withdrawing … They have been expelled (out).” Radina said there was only “one way out of the war, and that is for Ukraine to win.” Their comments came a day after the Russian Defense Ministry said it had decided to “drastically reduce hostilities” around Kyiv and Chernihiv. U.S. officials, including President Joe Biden, remain skeptical of the announcement. “We will see,” Biden said on Tuesday when asked about Russia’s allegations. “I do not read anything in it until I see what their actions are. We will see if they will follow what they suggest.”
More weapons are needed
The Ukrainian military is seeking foreign aid for reconnaissance and attack drones, regular radars, electronic warfare systems against drones and closed-air support aircraft, according to the latest list of Ukraine needs provided to Congress. The list, delivered to CNN on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, also includes assistance in treating wounded troops and repairing equipment, including mobile military medical hospitals, repairing armored vehicles in neighboring countries, and carrying weapons. Colorado Democrat Jason Crowe told a House Armed Services Committee hearing Wednesday that the latest list submitted to Congress this week reflects the “urgent needs” of Ukraine’s military and political leadership. At the top of the priority list of 17 items were reconnaissance and attack drones, including “switchblade” drones, which are small so-called kamikaze or suicide drones that carry a head and explode in a collision. The list also included fighter jets – specifically the Su-25, a Russian-made ground attack aircraft similar to the US-built A-10 Warthog. The Ukrainian army is also looking for artillery systems, surface-to-air missiles, Javelin anti-tank missiles, anti-ship missiles and surveillance equipment. Ukraine’s all-female delegation – men aged 18-60 are not allowed to leave Ukraine amid the war – traveled to Washington this week mainly, they say, to ask US lawmakers and administration officials for more military support. which they said is still far from Ukraine’s needs. “The right thing to do for Ukraine right now, to support Ukraine right now, would be weapons,” Radina said. “Ukraine is constantly asking for weapons, not only defensive weapons, but also offensive ones. In our case, this distinction between defensive and offensive is, to be honest, humiliating. In our situation, all weapons are defensive because we are defending our territories.” Radina reiterated that Ukraine needs fighter jets, “because that way we can really stop the bombing … And from now on this is the issue on the table, and while it is on the table, the people will continue to suffer.” “Our ‘humanitarian aid’ is weapons,” said MP Maria Ionova. “Because in order to minimize these casualties and losses, we must defend our air. Freedom must be armed. And that’s why our main message here is please, help us defend our future and the future of democracy. of the world. ”
“Neutrality is not an option for Ukraine”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has shown that Ukraine can be willing to give up NATO membership and commit to neutrality if the West provides Ukraine with solid security guarantees. But such a move would have to be put to a referendum – and Climbus-Chinchaze said anything other than NATO membership would have to be rejected. “Neutrality is not an option for Ukraine,” he said. “I want everyone to understand that we were unbound. We were a non-bloc country in 2014. It did not stop Putin from attacking us at that point. And it did not stop him from seizing part of our territory. So he will not stop him. Even if we write “In all the papers, everywhere, that we are neutral. He just does not care to exist as such.” Radina reiterated these comments, saying that “absolute neutrality is not an option for Ukraine”, because Russia will always border the country and will aim to “erase” Ukraine from the map. “Well, yes, we are looking for functional security guarantees and not just another Budapest Memorandum,” he said. The United Kingdom, the United States and Russia have signed the memorandum – which’s supposedly banning those countries from using military force against Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan – in exchange for giving up their nuclear weapons. Zelensky told the Munich Security Conference last month that Ukraine had “tried three times” since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea, “to convene consultations with the guarantor countries of the Budapest Memorandum. “Three times without success.” CNN’s Jeremy Herb contributed to this report.
