Day 204~ Missiles Hit The Kryvyi Rih Reservoir Dam
Putin tells Scholz he was right to invade Ukraine
With the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II coming up as she is currently Lying-in-State at the Palace of Westminster, the war in Ukraine continues. While Russian representatives have not been invited to attend, it has been reported that Chinese representatives have been extended an invitation. There is much controversy over this present, especially as Russia and China have met today for the first time since the invasion in Ukraine. While China has not explicitly stated that they support Russia, there are indications that they would considering they have been purchasing energy supplies from Russia despite the countries imposing sanctions against them.
As settlements are liberated by the Ukrainian army, many of these regions are left without basic utilities such as water and electricity, and of course many of the buildings or destroyed and the residents have nowhere left to live. Rebuilding Ukraine will take a long time, but for now at least some of the Ukrainians are free of the Russian invaders.
Day 204 (15 September)
Scholz spoke to Putin for 90 minutes yesterday (14 September) where Putin is still saying that he was right to launch an invasion in Ukraine, thus justifying his actions. With this in mind, how can there be a peace deal or negotiations?
Putin clearly believes that he had a right to invade Ukraine and take territory by force, therefore, those states that believe that Putin can be reasoned with must understand with this mindset he will continue to invade other countries that he believes he has a right to do so.
The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres has even claimed that the chance for peace talks is ‘minimal’, after talking to Putin. If Guterres thinks that the chances of Putin wishing to hold peace talks is slim, then that really means there is no chance at all. This also comes as reports claiming that Putin rejected are Ukrainian peace deal brokered by a Russian aide before the invasion. We can conclude that Putin has always wanted to invade regardless of what concessions were on the table.
During the conversation, Guterres also indicated they would be a possible deal to let Russia export fertilisers in exchange for allowing a UN mission to visit the Olenivka penal colony where 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed on the 29th of July 2022. It seems as if Russia is calling in the shots again, for what use is a fact-finding mission three months after the event? Any evidence will have long been destroyed and it seems as if the UN is simply doing it for show because how can there be a proper investigation after all this time?
Germany has still been criticised for not sending enough weapons to support Ukraine. A few months ago, Germany said that weapons would be sent in October and we are nearly in October now, so we will just have to wait and see whether the Germans keep to their word,
Approximately 388 settlements have been liberated by the Ukrainian army, freeing at least 150,000 people. Unfortunately, we will probably discover many Moss graves. Today a mass grave of 400 people was discovered in Izyum where it is likely a war crime was committed. How many more of these mass graves will be discovered in time?
Back to oil imports and while sanctions against Russia are beginning to make an impact, Saudi Arabia has doubled the amount of oil it was buying from Russia which negates the effects of the sanctions that have been imposed against Russia. In order to fully isolate Russia, other states must support Ukraine at the very least by not financially supporting Russia.
While it is good news that Ukraine is making positive advances where the Russian soldiers are fleeing, it is too early to be complacent and Ukraine needs a steady supply of weapons to keep the Russians at bay. This includes drones rocket defence equipment and tanks.
There is this all they can do to prevent Russia attacking nuclear power plants apart from having advanced missiles, however the US is reluctant to deliver any long-range missiles, should Russia than accuse them of providing weapons that could attack Russia. Russia has stated that if the US does provide long-range missiles to Ukraine it will consider them a party to the conflict by proxy, which means the war will have escalated, something that the US have been trying to avoid since the invasion began.
A number of missiles hit the Kryvyi Rih reservoir dam which means many people will be deprived of water supplies in the region. In addition there is obviously flooding and Ukraine has to manage the emergency situation, as well as defending the territory. Some may consider this a terrorist act because Russia is harming the welfare of citizens.
Yevgeni Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner group, which is a private mercenary group that operates in Russia has been filmed talking to prisoners in an attempt to recruit them to fight for Russia.
They have been promised their freedom if they fight for six months, if they fail to fight or try to leave report so they will be executed which is not such a great deal after all. Basically, they just need to kind of cannon fodder.
Surrender cards, I've been distributed in areas where Russian troops are such as in occupied areas. What these mean is that if a Russian soldier produces the card, it means that they are surrendering and basically they will be looked after by the Ukrainians. In a way it's a get out of jail free card. The translation is "Your ticket to a peaceful life. Show this card to the Ukrainian soldier it will save your life and help you to return home.” These were used in the Second World War and it gave soldiers a choice to live or die.
In the US, senators are introducing legislation that would identify Russia as a state sponsors of terrorism. This has been mentioned before but as more mass graves are uncovered and more civilian targets have been attacked, it becomes harder for the US to ignore this. Obviously, should the legislation pass then other countries could follow suit and this would isolate Russia on an international scale.
Ursula von der Leyen has met with the Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal to discuss the reconstruction conference that will be held on the 25th October 2022. She has also stated that she believes that Putin must face an International Court for carrying out the invasion in Ukraine. However, both countries are not party to the Rome Statute (they do not recognise the court), therefore, the most logical approach would be to set up a special international tribunal where the case can be heard.
In Zaporizhzhia, the Russians have been attacking the region with cluster bombs again.
In the EU, a €5 billion loan has been agreed to help Ukraine support itself while they are being invaded by Russia. This will help to pay for infrastructure, payment of the army and to run the government.
The SBU has identified more collaborators in Kharkiv, so far 16 have been identified and 11 have been detained. No doubt there will be more who may be on the run and it is essential that these people are captured otherwise they will hide and re-emerge and attack again.
Day 204~ Missiles Hit The Kryvyi Rih Reservoir Dam
"Some may consider it terrorism because Russia is harming citizens". I know this quote isn't totally accurate, but "harming citizens" shocks and appalls me by its irony; especially since this is exactly what has happened and Putin's intention for a quick victory. I am also shocked by Putin's so called 'justification' or 'defence' because he gave no justification or defence for the invasion other than he had to do it. I realise I should make notes before commenting, however, my 'defence' is that I am angry with the media ( it seems Yahoo have called the women racists for turning away from Meghan Markle on the walkabout), and angry that bad behaviour can't be criticised.