Zelenskyy Welcomed At The EU Summit
Starlink limits the use of satellites in Ukraine, stating they cannot be used for offensive purposes
The past 48 hours have seen much action in the public—Zelenskyy visited the UK, had an audience with King Charles III, addressed both Houses of Parliament, then that night flew to Paris and met with Macron at the Élysée Palace and Scholz who joined them later. The next day (9 February) Macron and Zelenskyy flew to Brussels for the EU Summit, where bot were welcomed by Ursula von der Leyen (president of the European Commission, and Charles Michel, the president of the European Council. Later, Zelenskyy has an audience with King Philippe of Belgium.
Zelenskyy reiterated the need for more weapons to prevent Russia from expanding its reign of terror, thanked all for their support, and that Ukraine thanked the EU community for welcoming them. A personal appearance with all the risks shows that the EU will pull out the stops to defend Ukraine, and that EU membership is more or less a given. That will give Ukraine some security and Russia naturally responded with further missiles attacks the next day.
The subject of combat aircraft being supplied to Ukraine has met with mixed opinions. Everyone is concerned that it will lead to escalation, yet that was said when tanks were to be supplied. The reality is that should fighter jets be supplied, it will be in a matter of months rather than weeks as pilots need to be trained.
As Russia launched more cruise missiles today, some appeared to pass over Moldova and Romania according to the Ukrainians who were tracking the missiles to intercept them. Eventually, Romania (a NATO country) said that the missile did not violate their airspace and was 35 miles away, and Moldova confirmed that the missile did pass through their airspace. On the sale day, the Prime Minister of Moldova (Natalia Gavrilita) resigned which meant the entire government was removed as per their constitution. The country is one of the poorest in Europe and has struggled to cope with refugees from Ukraine, and has been reliant on Russia for energy supplies which have been cut and have increased in price. It is not equipped to handle the fall out of the Russian invasion on its doorstep.
Many believe that Moldova is a Russian target as it is not a member of NATO and has only just received candidate status for EU membership. Corruption is a problem with so many Russian proxies in the country due to Transnistria as a breakaway pro-Russian region. Ukraine has taken a hardline to eradicate corruption, and Moldova need to do the same in order to gain full EU membership and to have some protection from Russian influences.
Day 351 (9 February)
Zelenskyy visits Macron in Paris, and is awarded the Legion of Honour, the highest award in France for notable civil or military merits. Scholz joined the two men the previous night. Both Macron and Zelenskyy attend the EU Summit in Brussels and arrive together. Charles Michel, posts on social media ‘Welcome home, welcome to the EU,’ addressing Zelenskyy’s arrival in Brussels.
On 8 February 2023, the UK and Ukraine signed a Declaration of Unity outlining the measures the countries are taking as allies.
Starlink has decided to limit how their satellites can be used in Ukraine, stating that the user agreement did not permit offensive use, and were not supposed to be used by the military. That is the very reason why the satellites are necessary so that troops can contact each other. Starlink claims that using the satellites to operate drones violates the user agreement, even though the action is actually defensive rather than offensive.
This has arisen as Russia and China made a formal complaint to the UN about the use of Starlink satellites, as they were attacking Russian soldiers who were invading their country, and it doesn’t help Elon Musk who wanted to withdraw the supply of the satellites but under social media pressure did a u-turn. After all this time, suddenly Starlink decide a violation has occurred, and some will see this as a measure to support Russia.
Roger Waters of Pink Floyd addressed the UN Security Council (at the invitation of the Russians) claiming that Russia was provoked into invading Ukraine, and in the same breath said the invasion was illegal but was provoked by the West! He also claims he is speaking for the world (I don’t even know where to begin with that), and that a ceasefire is necessary. Does he realise that Ukraine is defending itself and if they stop defending themselves, then Russia will occupy the country?
Zelenskyy addressed the EU summit to three standing ovations, reminding all that Ukraine fights for the liberty of Europe. There are hopes that Ukraine will become a member of the EU by the end of the year as Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine needs membership in 2023
Several countries have said they were willing to provide fighter jets, but there must be talks first and all the allied countries need to work together as a coalition,.
We are defending ourselves in the battlefield, will Ukrainians, together with you.
Day 352 (10 February)
Biden ordered the shooting of an object flying at high altitude over Alaska. This comes after the Chinese spy ballon was shot down and the debris was analysed. This causes more friction between the 2 countries, both who are permanent UN Security Council members. China has not officially condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but many expect China to support Russia as China has not imposed sanctions against Russia.
The Prime Minister of Moldova (Natalia Gavrilita) resigned today, and the government has also been disbanded. Dorin Recean has been nominated as the next Prime Minister (who was her defence advisor). This sudden move comes after a Russian missile entered Moldovan airspace, aimed at attacking Ukraine. Corruption is the main problem, and like Ukraine it is hard to stamp out as both countries seek to join the EU as quickly as possible.
Russian launched two Kaliber missiles that flew over (Mocra) Moldova and into Ukraine. Earlier claims state that the missile also flew into Romanian airspace, but Romania issued a press release denying that the missile violated their airspace. Two NATO aircraft were on standby during this period, with fears of such an act triggering Article 5. That is what all the allied leaders are afraid of, and some claim that is what the Ukrainians want. I believe it is inevitable that NATO must be involved in order for Russia to be defeated, and that no one wants to invoke Article 5 and be known as the country that officially started WW III
Romania stated that the missile was 35 miles from their border and did not pass through their airspace. Moldova has summoned the Russian ambassador to explain themselves as all sources verify that the missile did violate the Moldovan airspace
Oleh Voloshyn, an opposition Ukrainian MP has been charged with high treason by assisting Russia (military and political) and engaging in subversive actions against Ukraine.
In Lviv, a court has sentenced 13 Luhansk People’s Republic militants to 13 years imprisonment for aiding the Russians when they retreated from Kharkiv. They had bene captured by the Ukrainian army and turned over to the SBU.
The Netherlands confirms that Ukraine has made an official request for F-16 fighter jets.
Zelenskyy meets the King of the Belgians and presents him with a fragment of a Russian Su-25 aircraft that Ukrainian defenders were able to take down due to weapons supplied by the allies
Russia launched more than 70 missiles at Ukraine today, and 20 were cruise missiles aimed ay Mykolaiv. This is the 14th missile strike by Russia.
Putin is getting ready to address parliament, with a state of the union address, before the anniversary of 21 February, which is the day he declared that Donetsk and Luhansk were independent, and used this to justify the invasion of Ukraine 3 days later.
There was another swap of bodies between Russia and Ukraine, where 61 bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers were returned to Ukraine.
A captured Russian solider has admitted that their orders were to shoot Ukrainian soldiers even if they surrendered, and that they did not take any prisoners of war. This is a violation of the Geneva Convention and is a war crime.
Sometimes I feel like the world is treating this war like it's a sports game between Russia and the Ukraine. All these countries have set up the rules, and they're calling the plays and penalties, as if they're the referees and umpires.