The day after Russia’s fifth large-scale attack on Ukraine in a month and a half, the Kremlin and its close ally, the Belarusian autocrat, came out to put pressure on Kiev. Vladimir Putin also spoke, but to warn of a new crisis, if the G7 takes the initiative to impose a cap on the price of Russian oil. And, a sign of the times, he heard criticism from the prime minister of Armenia at the meeting of the leaders of the security organization of former Soviet countries.
In the aftermath of the Russian attack, consisting of seven dozen cruise missiles, which killed at least ten people and left Ukraine and Moldova without electricity for hours, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced to the United Nations Security Council that Russia “uses energy as a weapon of war, with temperatures dropping below zero degrees”, classifying the attack as a “flagrant crime against humanity”. His call for a “determined response” met, unsurprisingly, with the Russian veto.
During a visit to Helsinki, the President of the European Commission condemned Russia’s “barbaric attacks” that lead to “babies, parents and grandparents freezing in the dark” and confirmed that a new sanctions package, the ninth, will soon be imposed against Russia. “We are working hard to target Russia, where its ability to wage war against Ukraine is further impaired,” Ursula von der Leyen said at a news conference.
The German leader did not say what measures will be included in the sanctions. The day before, Ukraine’s foreign minister said the restrictions imposed on Moscow are working. But Dmytro Kuleba urged Europeans to hurry up and add more measures, including sanctions against the missile industry, to prevent the Russian regime from reaching cities and energy infrastructure.
The 27 disagreed on Wednesday over the measure advocated by the group of more industrialized nations to impose a cap on the price of Russian oil. Despite not directly affecting the EU – with the exception of Hungary the other countries cannot buy oil from Moscow from the 5th – Cyprus, Greece and Malta are not interested in the impact it could have on their oil tankers. Still, von der Leyen was “convinced that very soon” a global price cap for Russian oil will be approved in cooperation with the G7 and other countries. “We will not rest until Ukraine has won victory over Putin and his illegal and barbaric war,” he said.
In a telephone conversation with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed al-Sudani, the Russian leader warned of the “serious consequences for the global energy market” such a move would entail. Moscow has threatened to stop selling oil to countries that accept such a measure, as well as lower extractive production next year.
Present in Yerevan, Armenia, for a meeting of the leaders of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a military alliance linking Russia and Belarus with Armenia and the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, Putin acknowledged “problems in the functioning of the CSTO. In September, Kyrgyz and Tajiks killed each other by the dozen in a border dispute; and in the same month, the Armenian government requested intervention from the CSTO after Azerbaijan’s bombing of its territory, but the only answer was to send Russian observers.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who refused to sign the meeting’s joint statement, said it was “depressing that Armenia’s integration into the CSTO has failed to contain Azerbaijan’s aggression,” souring the meeting, which also saw street protests. Putin is one persona non grata (…) We have nothing in common with this group of non-democratic countries,” one protester told Politico.
One of these undemocratic leaders, Belarusian Alexander Lukashenko, told journalists that the conflict was the subject of debate and that “its end is in the hands of Ukraine”. “If you don’t want a huge number of people to die, it’s hard, it’s complicated, but you have to stop or Ukraine will be completely destroyed,” he said in a threatening tone to the invaded country.
On the same wavelength, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov threw the responsibility to Kiev to end the “military operation” if it “resolves the situation in such a way as to meet the demands of the Russian side and thus create a puts an end to all possible suffering of the civilian population”. The reply, from Zelensky adviser Mikhailo Podolyak, was addressed to Peskov: “Russia has invaded Ukraine. And Russia can stop the war at any time, without more missiles and troop withdrawals. It is not smart enough to make a causal connection -It’s been made?”.
prisoner exchange
For the second day in a row, Russians and Ukrainians exchanged prisoners. In the most recent release, Kiev says 50 soldiers detained in Mariupol, Chernobyl and Serpent Island returned home in exchange for an equal number of occupying soldiers. This equates to 35 military personnel and one civilian the day before.
According to Reuters, the leaders of both countries held talks in the United Arab Emirates last week, with the aim of getting Moscow to resume exports of ammonia (an essential component in the composition of fertilizer), reopen a gas pipeline from the Russian region of the Volga to the Black Sea port of Pivdennyi, which has the capacity to transport 2.5 million tons of that gas per year.
In return, and according to public statements by President Zelensky, Ukraine demanded a prisoner exchange program and the reopening of the port of Mykolaiv. Although the sanctions against Russia do not affect food products or fertilizers, Moscow says it cannot transport these products. As for the POWs, Zelensky said at the end of October that 1,031 Ukrainians had been released, but some had been overtaken.
Boris honorary citizen
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been awarded the title of honorary citizen of Kiev, the mayor of the Ukrainian capital, Vitaliy Klitschko, has announced. “Johnson has done and I am sure he will continue to do everything possible for the UK and world leaders to provide the assistance Ukraine needs,” the mayor said.
Hungary defers Sweden and Finland to NATO
The Hungarian prime minister said that parliament will not vote on ratifying Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO until 2023. Viktor Orbán justified the delay with anti-corruption legislative activity in response to demands from the European Commission, whose funds have been blocked. In addition to Hungary, Turkey has not ratified the accession of the Nordic countries to the Atlantic Alliance.
Source: DN
