Ukraine urged its allies on Friday to send more weapons to the country as its forces scrambled to slow Russia’s military advance through the eastern Donbass region, while Moscow warned Western nations about the consequences of their reprisals for the invasion.
Signaling that the Kremlin is not in a compromise mood, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the continued use of sanctions against Russia could trigger a “catastrophic” rise in energy prices.
Russia’s top diplomat, Chancellor Sergei Lavrov, clashed with his Western counterparts at a G20 meeting, at which they urged Russia to allow Kiev to ship blocked Ukrainian grain to an increasingly hungry world.
Meanwhile, Moscow’s envoy to London did not hold out much hope of a pullback in parts of Ukraine under Russian control. Ambassador Andrei Kelin told Reuters that Russian troops would take the rest of Donbass, in eastern Ukraine, and would not withdraw overland on the southern coast.
Ukraine will eventually have to strike a peace deal “or keep falling off the cliff” to its downfall, he said.
“Scorched Earth Tactic”
On Thursday, Putin indicated that current prospects for finding a solution to the conflict were low, saying Russia’s campaign in Ukraine had barely begun.
Ambassador Kelin’s comments hinted at Russia’s possible ultimate goal — a forced partition that leaves its neighbor without more than a fifth of its post-Soviet territory.
War could still get worse, Kelin said.
Ukrainian officials, echoing comments by the deputy commander of the infantry unit outside Siversk, said they needed more high-quality Western weapons to bolster their defences.
U.S. President Joe Biden authorized a new $400 million weapons package for Ukraine on Friday, including four additional high-mobility missile artillery systems (Himars) and more ammunition.
“It’s not your country”
At the G20 meeting in Bali, Indonesia, some of the biggest critics of the invasion that began on February 24th confronted Lavrov, who withdrew from the meeting and denounced the West for “frenzied criticism”.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has urged Moscow to release the beans, a Western official said.
“He spoke directly to Russia: ‘To our Russian colleagues, Ukraine is not your country. Her grain is not your grain. Why are you blocking ports? You should let the grain out,’” the official said.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
