Russia Seeks Support From Arab States

Russia claims responsibility for the missiles in Odesa and seeks to charge Ukraine with war crimes

As we enter the sixth month of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia is realising that Ukraine will carry on fighting and will not give in, and are running around now trying to find support from other states. This will divide the world, as both sides court their allies. The majority of the democratic world supports Ukraine, while autocratic states support Russia because it also justifies how they rule their countries.

Poland, the UK and US continue to send weapons to Ukraine, but we have been here before and war always moves outside the original battle zone. No one wants that, but to end a war, there has to be a final face-off. You also have issues such as Turkey and Hungary who seem to be softly supportive of Russia (as both are hardly democratic governments), where Turkey is a NATO member and Hungary is a member of NATO and the EU. As this invasion arose from corruption within the government of Ukraine, the chances of infiltration in Hungary and Turkey by the Russians is high, as both countries will have access to sensitive NATO data and logistics. No one wants to point fingers at Turkey and Hungary, but they have publicly been seen to support authoritarian regimes.

Most recently, Turkey publicly supported the Syrian regime, and Hungary has said that to end the war in Ukraine, Russia must negotiate with the US! This has become more of a world war on paper already with political alliances frayed, and domestic politics challenged on how each state handles the Ukrainian situation.

Ukrainians simply want to live in peace with their own laws and to establish a democratic state by moving away from the old Soviet ideals. Some in Ukraine think that the Russians will look after them, but they care little about the people and simply want the land and power. The West is conflicted because they wish to do the right thing by supporting democracy, but they are also dependent on Russian energy that the citizens need. Russia has always held the world to hostage through their energy supplies, but now is the time to find a way not to concede to Russia the bully. France has declared there will be rules to conserve energy, such as closing doors of shops with air conditioning and switching off adverts that use light overnight. That can’t be a bad thing, but Germany and other countries may feel they have to concede to Russia, hence why they seek a speedy peace deal.

I have always considered Hungary and Turkey to be countries of concern during this conflict, but more so that both countries are willing to publicly declare support for authoritarian regimes, and where one is not rooting for democracy. Are the EU and NATO too weak to take them to one side and state that their actions are not in accordance with the charters they agreed to? Will they be the reason why the alliances fail to address this crisis? In history, few countries get kicked out of an alliance and perhaps now is the time to take a firm hand and remove those who think they can play both sides— to have protection from one party, and to support the aggressor when they offer something of benefit to them.

Day 151 (24 July)

• Russia has, according to some sources admitted to the missile attacks in Odesa. The attacks did not injure people, but the damage will slow the process of moving the grain in the port. Russia has claimed they were aiming at military targets, just as they claimed to have done so when they attacked a shopping centre in Vinnytsia.

  

• In Kherson, there are reports that Ukrainian businesses are being forced to pay Russian taxes, and that they must operate as Russian companies.

  

  This is another means to force the occupied region to become Russian, and to force people to have Russian passports if they wish to trade

  

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• Reporters states that 2 Americans, a Canadian and a Swedish citizen were killed in an attack when they were defending eastern Ukraine. The Americans have been named as Luke Lucysyn and Bryan Young. The Canadian was Emile-Antoine Roy-Sirois, and the Swedish citizen was Edvard Selander Patrighani. Writing their names saddens me as they died bravely, helping to defend a country that has been attacked to strip them of their democracy and rights. It also angers me that the alliances in place are too weak and scared to act.

  

• Ukraine is still optimistic about moving the grain shipments via organised caravans out of the Black Sea, but much depends on how Turkey and the UN will act, as in to ensure Russia sticks to their agreement.

  

• Russia has claimed that social media sites such as Facebook and YouTube have been blocked in occupied regions of southern Ukraine. This comes after google was blocked in some areas, as Russia claims these are spreading disinformation and are promoting violence against Russians.

  

• The governor of Mykolaiv, Vitaliy Kim has stated he will close the city for several days to root out the traitors, and the flush out the proxies, and spies who are pro-Russian. More than a dozen have already been arrested, and by closing the city it means they can’t escape, and those who do try to escape will come under suspicion.

  

Day 152 (25 July)

• Lavrov has on a tour in the Arab states to seek and secure support for Russia. He has also stated that any Arab vessels picking up grain from Ukraine will be inspected for weapons. The Russians fear that other states will donate weapons to Ukraine, and such inspections will also delay the transit of grain, and that is what they want—to make the process as difficult as possible

  

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• Russia is seeking to charge Ukraine with allegations of war crimes, and has insisted that an independent tribunal be set up with countries that are neutral to Ukraine in charge as they do not believe a UN backed tribunal would be fair. They have suggested countries such as Syria,Iran and Bolivia should administer the tribunal, although all are autocratic regimes who are not neutral but who are pro-Russian. While it is possible and that Ukrainian soldiers may have carried out what are deemed war crimes, proving it is another matter. One must remember that Ukraine are not targeting civilians, but Russian soldiers who are trespassing on Ukrainian land, and if they are defending the land and Ukrainian citizens, then it will be hard to justify a war crime. The issue is whether Russian prisoners of war were treated accordingly, but then again if they were trying to escape, would a Ukrainian solider have just cause to shoot them if they escaped and revealed their location to other troops?

  

• Viktor Orban of Hungary has been vocal in dismissing the Western approach of sanctions, declaring that they have failed and Ukraine is not winning. It is as if he doesn’t want Ukraine to win with all the help Hungary has given Ukraine, which has been zilch. The international community must question whether Hungary is violating or breaching any rules as a NATO and EU member, where they are supposed to agree to and follow the position of the alliances. Hungary is not, and it is easy to see why the optics of them being a Trojan horse are circulating, and where corruption is highly probable, in that pro-Russian factions could infiltrate the government and acquire NATO information.

  

• Ukraine has stated it will retake Kherson, as reports claim that civilians are being tortured, and threatened if they do not comply with Russian demands. It is also a region where multiple pro-Russian traitors have been found, who enabled the Russians to occupy the area.