Nobel Peace Prize Invites Russia And Iran
But withdraws the invite 24 hours later after harsh reactions
Prigozhin was buried in a private service, which was under heavy guard on 29 August 2023. Now it looks as if the Kremlin will take control of the Wagner group, although rumours still circulate that his decoy wife was seen at the funeral.
The important thing now is that Ukraine is well-equipped with weapons, and ones that they can use strategically and not be limited in how to use them (all allies state they cannot be used on Russian soil). We are entering a phase where Ukraine must build a new arsenal of the latest technology in order to get rid of Russia for good, and it’s hard when some countries still believe that talks can end the war. We, (IMHO) are nowhere near the stage of negotiations to end the war, especially with so many war crimes having been committed.
Day 554 (31 August)
In a newly released video days before his death, Prigozhin alluded to threats on his life and safety. He was buried without military honours in a small and private service at the request of his family. What this underlines is that Putin is dangerous and that he does not keep his word—both things that were already known.
Zelenskyy has stated that Ukraine needs 169 fighter jets to defend itself from Russia. That means Ukraine needs another 100 jets in addition to the promised 50 F-16s due next spring.
The Nobel Peace Prize decided to invite Russia, Belarus, and Iran to saying that it wanted it include those that didn’t share the values of the Nobel Prize.
It is clear that the world is increasingly divided into spheres, where dialogue between those with differing views is being reduced. To counter this tendency, we are now broadening our invitations to celebrate and understand the Nobel Prize and importance of free science, free culture, and free, peaceful societies. (Vidgar Helgesen, executive director of Nobel Foundation)
However, less than 24 hours later after harsh criticism from Sweden and the rest of the democratic states, the Nobel Prize has withdrawn the invitation to award ceremony in Sweden, but are still invited to the Oslo ceremony.
We recognise the strong reaction in Sweden. It is important to write to reach out as widely as possible with the values of messages that the Nobel Prize stands for – for example, through lost years, clear, political message with the peace prize awarded to human rights fighters from Russia and Belarus, as well as Ukrainians, who work with documenting Russian war crimes I would therefore choose to repeat last year's exception to regular practice, that is to not invite ambassadors of Russia, Belarus, and around to the Nobel prize award ceremony in Stockholm. As before, all the ambassadors will be invited to the ceremony in Oslo.
Day 555 (1 September)
BAE Systems has signed a partnership with Ukraine to have a legal entity established in Ukraine. This is to help develop local production of ammunition and weapons in Ukraine, and was announced after a meeting with BAE’s CEO, Charles Woodburn.
BAE Systems will produce L119 howitzers in Ukraine in partnership with Ukrainian manufacturers.
Lithuania’s Foreign Minister (Gabriel’s Landsbergis has called on the EU to stop using the phrase that they ‘will support Ukraine for as long as it takes’, which sounds good, but it means that they will support them defending themselves. He says the EU should be ‘supporting Ukraine to its victory’, which is different because it means that Russia will have to be defeated.
No surprise that Hungary vetoed funding for Ukraine again on a meeting on 31 August 2023. When will the EU deal with Hungary accordingly?
Ukraine has added PepsiCo and Mars as international sponsors of war for continuing to trade in Russia, and pay taxes which supports the Russian government and finances the war.
The CSTO military exercises will run from 1-6 September and will be hosted in Minsk by Belarus. This has concerned the bordering countries as acts of provocation are likely.
Day 556 (2 September)
Germany has delivered 10 Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine and the US has said Abrams will be delivered shortly. The tank coalition is finally moving, but we must remember that it has been 18 months since the war began and Ukraine is only now getting heavy weaponry that they need to defend themselves and to defeat Russia.
Belarus accused Poland of violating its airspace on 1 September 2023, when an Mi-24 helicopter flew in the vicinity of Byerastavitsa in Grodno, Belarus. Poland denies this and claims that it is an attempt at provocation.
The UN and Turkey are looking to revive the Black Sea grain initiative by offering Russia some of their demands, which include releasing funds from Russian fertilisers firms in Europe that had been sanctioned, and allowing Rosselhozbank into SWIFT. This is a bad move as it is appeasing the Russians and once the UN concedes, Russia will expect more because they demanded it and got it. That means this war will continue and Russia will be able to finance it with sanctions lifted.