Ukraine Holds Peace Formula Summit
Hungary and Slovakia's Prime Ministers block EU aid to Ukraine
Orban of Hungary has a new sidekick, Fico of Slovakia (both who appear to silently support Putin), the new Prime Minister of Slovakia, where both have opposed the €50 billion aid package to Ukraine. Apparently, Orban said €25 billion was enough, and both ironically cited corruption issues as a reason for the objection. Ironic, as Orban and Fico have both been involved in corruption scandals themselves.
This does beg the question as to whether Russian interference in the elections has taken place as Slovakia has been a keen ally of Ukraine, so why would the people vote in someone who has openly objected to supporting Ukraine with aid unless they are keen for the Kremlin to have a say in matters?
With the war in the Middle East making the headlines each day, Ukraine has less coverage, yet the battles continue. The latest is that Russia is reported to be using Ukraine prisoners of war and to force them to fight for Russia, which of course is against the Geneva Convention. The problem is, if they do carry this out, who will stop them? The useless UN?
Unfortunately, this war will drag on until Hungary and Slovakia are either suspended from NATO and the EU, or if the current governments are removed. They will block Ukraine’s membership to both alliances and Ukraine needs to be in NATO to be protected from Russia. Also, they are blocking aid, and refusing to supply any aid other than humanitarian aid to Ukraine. It’s hardly a united Europe and there appears to be Russian interference, which is why Ukraine was invaded, due to Russian interference in local government who enabled the invasion in February 2022.
Ukraine needs more weapons and all in one go and not bit by bit and that’s why this war in dragging on. They are supplied with some weapons, but never enough and then have to wait for more weapons to arrive. Therefore, until things change in how weapons are supplied, the war will continue and meanwhile, Russia can manufacture more weapons and mobilise more troops with the help of their allies.
Day 609 (25 Oct)
Elon Musk interferes again and suggests that a ceasefire in Ukraine was favourable terms for Russia, would prevent further war. We are in the current situation where there is a war in the Middle East as well and the international community as a whole will have to choose sides. War exists, and Russia will not concede.
Spanish police have uncovered some smugglers connected to a representative of the Russian Orthodox Church who tried to sell historic Ukrainian artefacts, including Scythian gold.
In Prague, the second Parliamentary summit of the Crimean platform was held on 24 October. This is to continue discussions on how to de-occupy Crimea.
It has been reported that Ukrainian and Moldova lawmakers may join the EU Parliament as observers while they await ascension to the EU.
Day 610 (26 Oct)
Robert Fico, the new Slovakian Prime minister has publicly declared he will not support any military aid for Ukraine. He also said that he would not support any sanctions against Russia, but would provide humanitarian support, which is basically the same position as Orban of Hungry. The problem is that Russia doesn’t seek peace, it only wants to take Ukraine.
It is better to let them negotiate peace for 10 years than to kill each other for 10 years without any takeaways. (Fico)
The battle in Avdiika is bloody. Russia is reported to have killed any solders attempting to retreat. Many have bene fighting with poor equipment and little training as new conscripts have been used as canon fodder.
Romania has installed an anti-trust system near the border with Ukraine at the Danube Delta. This is due to the increase drone attacks on the Ukrainian ports by the Danube, which has led to drone fragments landing in Romania.
Day 611 (27 Oct)
Latvia has begun to restrict cars that have Russian license plates, so cause with Russian license police must register the vehicle or remove it from Latvia.
Zelenskyy has asked, President Sheik Mohammed bin, Zayed, Al Nahyan, the UAE president to join the Grain from Ukraine initiative.
A pro-Russian former politician, Oleg Tsaryov has apparently been shot in Yalta, Crimea by the SBU, and remains in a critical state. He has been labelled as a traitor and has been on the security services radar as he was lined up to be a Putin puppet.
The EU has stated that Ukraine needs to be victorious in this war and Russia must be defeated in order to protect the democratic world. The essential steps are sanctions against Russia, a tribunal to hold Putin accountable for the war, to use frozen Russian assets to fund the reconstruction of Ukraine, and to support Ukraine's membership to NATO and the EU.
Hungry and Slovakia have objected to the €50 billion financial plan called the Ukraine Facility during a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels. Orban of Hungary has argued €25 billion is enough and that any additional funds should be assessed when the time comes. Hungary has provided no military aid to Ukraine and also forbids any aid to be transported through the country, yet stye are still permitted to be in NATO and the EU and to receive funding from the EU. Calls to remove Hungary have been ignored, but it seems to be essential if the EU wishes to remain credible. Fico of Slovakia said that supporting Ukraine could encourage corruption.
Ukraine has developed its own de-mining machine to help de-mine the country.
According to Zelenskyy, when he addressed the EU council on 26th October, she stated that Ukraine had practically implemented all of the seven recommendations that the EU commission had presented to Ukraine. This means that negotiations on joining the EU may proceed.
Day 612 (28 Oct)
The third Ukrainian Peace Formula Summit is held in Malta. China opts not to attend (no surprise) and Armenia joins for the first time. Representatives from 65 states have attended the two day summit.
At the Yahodyn-Dorohusk checkpoint between Ukraine and Poland, automatic cameras have been installed to check the number plates of vehicles passing through. This is a security measure to monitor movements, and help the border crossing process, while also helping to minimise corruption.
Russia has created the Bohdan Khmelntsky battalion which is reported to have been made up of Ukrainian prisoners of war. This is in violation of the Geneva Convention which forbids any prisoner of war to be sent or detained in areas where they might be exposed to the fire in a combat zone.
Russian troops have arrived in Byaroza, Belarus to train drone operators.
The weather in Ukraine has been stormy, and has led to outages of power along with the damage caused by Russian drone attacks.
The Netherlands has held talks on bilateral security guarantees as per the G7 proposed agreement.