Today marks the one year anniversary of the liberation of Bucha. The world witnessed scenes that were once seen in history books. These crimes should not have taken place again—that’s why the UN exists.
Zelenskyy and other world leaders from neighbouring countries paid their respects to the victims of the Bucha Massacre, and yet Russia continues to attack Ukraine.
I saw an interesting thread that backs what many analysts think, and that only NATO membership under Article V can offer any actual security guarantees, hence why Finland and Sweden opted to apply to join. The EU is a stepping stone, but it does not offer the military and security guarantees that Ukraine needs to prevent Russia from mounting another invasion in the future. That is what happened after Crimea, and the Minsk protocols failed to prevent another invasion, and in fact did little as the war in the Donbas grew bloodier by the day.
Ukraine needs to win the war before talks of reconstruction can begin to take effect, and that means they need advanced weapons in order to defend themselves and to push the Russians out of Ukraine once and for all.
Day 401 (31 March)
The Olympic Committee will not back down and will permit Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under a neutral flag. Ukraine has responded by stating they will not permit Ukrainian athletes to compete in events where Russians and Belarusians will participate.
The ban on Russian and Belarusian players has been lifted at Wimbledon, but has been heavily criticised. A statement issued lays down specific guidelines for athletes to be able to participate under a neutral flag, and they must be independent and self-funded. They cannot receive any funding from the state or sponsorship from companies controlled by the government, and cannot support the governments of Russia or Belarus or their leaders. Players and their teams must sign a declaration agreeing to this, and if breached they will be fined and banned.
Individual, self, funded, Russian and Belarusian, athletes can compete in the UK, subject to following our guidance on neutrality. (Lucy Frazer, UK Culture Secretary.)
65 Ukrainian soldiers have completed their training for the Patriot system in the US at Fort Sill in Oklahoma.
Zelenskyy was joined by Maia Sandu (President of Moldova), Eduard Geger Prime Minster for Slovakia), Robert Golob (Prime Minister of Slovenia), Andrej Plenković (Prime Minister of Croatia) at a ceremony to honour the victims killed in Bucha.
Ukraine has received a $2.4 billion loan from Canada, through the IMF. The loan is for 10 years and interest will be at 1.5 % per annum.
In the UN, the Russian Permanent Representative (Vasily Nebenzya) has stated that Russia will transfer Iskander systems (these can launch nuclear weapons) to Belarus, and are building a storage unit for nuclear weapons to be housed there. He further accused Europe of deploying tactical nuclear weapons it seems as an excuse for taking such an action. Another claim is that Russia is not violating any obligations it has made in terms of the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Lukashenko of Belarus has made an annual speech in parliament where he promoted Russian propaganda rather than to discuss the future of Belarus. He has called upon Ukraine to hold peace talks without any preconditions, and claims that he believes Belarus is in danger from the rest of Europe which is why it needs nuclear weapons!