In particular, during one of the meetings with the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in January, Zelenskyy allegedly proposed to transfer combat units to Russian territory and “occupy several border settlements” in order “to gain leverage in negotiations with Moscow”. At another meeting in February, Zelenskyy lamented that the Ukrainian armed forces do not have long-range missiles or other means to strike Russian forces in Russia, while suggesting that unnamed military targets in the region of Rostov are attacked with drones.
The Washington Post points to Zelenskyy’s “aggressive instincts” in contrast to the way he performs in public. The possibility of using long-range missiles by the Ukrainian armed forces for strikes against Russia, as the newspaper recalls, is a “sensitive subject for the White House”, where they fear that this could lead to an escalation of the conflict and drawing NATO into direct confrontation with a nuclear power.
The escalation of Ukrainian attempts to attack Russian territory in various ways is evident without leaks to US media. For example, at the end of last week, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Ukrainian Armed Forces used recently handed over British Storm Shadow missiles to attack Luhansk.
Ukraine does not directly recognize responsibility for the attacks and sabotage on the territory of Russia, elaborating the image of the victim, whose actions would be of a purely defensive nature.
The Americans have never publicly condemned such attacks by Ukraine, and in general they usually claim that it does not happen. But there are several reasons why the Washington Post might publish such documents. Perhaps, in the context of the activation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, this is a reminder to Ukrainians that Western countries provide them with military assistance on the condition that this does not lead to NATO being drawn into the conflict. Perhaps Washington is at the same time trying to distance itself from these attempts and show that Kyiv is doing all this on its own. But it cannot be ruled out that the West is ready to up the ante in the conflict, so there is a gradual normalization of the acceptability of strikes on Russian territory.
In any case, it is obvious that the authorities of European countries, under pressure from the United States, are always ready to continue pumping arms into Kiev, no matter how escalating Zelenskyy’s plans are. Late last week, he traveled to Italy and Germany, after receiving promises of new batches of weapons and equipment for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Zelenskyy, after a meeting with the pope, commenting on the Vatican’s moves for a settlement, made it clear that he was not ready for peace negotiations and had “nothing to say” with Moscow. But Italian Prime Minister George Meloni agreed with him, demanding a “just peace” only on Ukraine’s terms and promising to continue supporting Kyiv “as long as it takes”. Zelenskyy said that important decisions were made during the talks on “protecting Ukrainian skies”.
In Germany, as noted by the TASS agency, Chancellor Olaf Scholz received a guest from Kyiv with military honors, although his visit had a working status, not a state one. Scholz also supported negotiations only on Ukraine’s terms. This is, in fact, excluded their possibility at this stage, which is not surprising, since Kiev’s Western sponsors are openly pushing the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the offensive, demanding results from their military investments. Berlin timed the visit with the announcement of the biggest military aid package worth 2.7 billion euros. The German Ministry of Defense announced that this batch will include 30 Leopard 1A5 tanks, two dozen Marder infantry fighting vehicles and howitzers, four IRIS-T air defense systems, auxiliary equipment and ammunition. Zelenskyy said work is underway to create a coalition for the supply of Western military aviation to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
At the same time, unlike European leaders, public opinion in the countries of the Old World is not so clearly willing to support Kyiv’s militant projects. On the day of Zelenskyy’s visit to Italy, a protest rally took place near the Roman Colosseum, the participants of which unfurled a banner reading “Zelenskyy is not welcome! Against war. No weapons for Ukraine”. According to Ipsos sociologists, around 45% of Italians are opposed to sending arms to Ukraine, while only 34% of respondents are in favor. In Germany, as YouGov sociologists have found, 55% of residents want peace talks between Russia and Ukraine to resolve the conflict.
In the meantime
The Swiss Parliament has authorized the idea of ​​changing the legislation, which would allow arms to be sent to Ukraine. This is reported by the local newspaper Tages-Anzeiger. Following long discussions and under pressure from the West, Bern decided to abandon the principles of neutrality. The essence of the initiative is to correct the so-called Law on War Material, according to which Bern is prohibited not only from sponsoring military conflicts with weapons, but also from selling them to third countries in order to send them to the front line. As a guarantee, the State acquiring the weapons signs a declaration of refusal to re-export. The new amendments will make it possible to circumvent this rule under certain conditions: if the country which buys weapons, according to Bern, does not violate human rights and does not intend to use them against the civilian population, and also if the power does not participate in and international conflicts. If the changes are made, Bern will meet the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for armaments through intermediaries. However, in Bern they are not inclined to rush into the process of implementing the initiative. The bill should be considered next year at the earliest. Also, the procedure may be delayed due to the referendum. The decision on the possible re-export of weapons to third countries is considered “in principle” in Switzerland.
Prepared by Anna Belorustseva
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