Despite progress in dialogue, ‘thorny’ until ceasefire
▲ War on the ground
A satellite image of Mariupol, a port city in southeastern Ukraine, released on the 29th (local time) by Maxa Technology, a private American satellite company, shows the horrific sight of the entire city in ruins due to the Russian invasion. Ukrainian forces are fighting a defensive battle in the city of Mariupol, which has been besieged by Russian forces for nearly four weeks, but there is a forecast that it will be captured by Russian forces within a few days. The Mariupol city council claimed on the 30th that “Russian troops forcibly transported 70 patients and medical staff from the city’s obstetrics and gynecology departments to Russia.”
Mariupol AP Yonhap News
Russia and Ukraine started discussing a new security system on the 29th (local time), raising expectations for a ceasefire, but Russia also conducted airstrikes on the Ukrainian capital Kiev (Kyiv) and Chernivu on the same day, raising doubts about the will of the peace talks. . The Western world is wary of ‘deceitful tactics’, saying that the reduction in military activity announced by Russia is “relocation, not withdrawal.”
After the 5th meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, the two countries positively evaluated that it was ‘a practical dialogue for a peace agreement’. However, the Russian side reduced the meaning, saying, “It does not mean the end of the battle.” “There is still a long way to go before we can reach a mutually acceptable agreement between the two countries,” Russia’s chief representative Vladimir Medinsky said in an interview with state news agency TAS. Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said at a briefing on the same day that “all major tasks in Kiiu and Chernivu have been accomplished,” and emphasized that the purpose of the reorganization of the Russian army is to complete the operation to completely liberate Donbas. According to the Western analysis, it is read as a possibility to redistribute the power focused on Kiiu and Chernhiu and disperse it to the Eastern Donbass.
Analysts say that Russia’s announcement of a reduction in military activity is a typical time-wasting strategy for redeploying its forces or a gesture to avoid further sanctions from the West. There was no explicit mention of a ‘cease fire’ in the negotiations, and it was said that the goal of the division strategy could be one step closer by moving the forces to the southeast and the Donbas region.
U.S. President Joe Biden said at a press conference at the White House on Wednesday that “I won’t predict anything until I see them take action.” US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln, who is on a tour of North Africa, warned, “There are Russian words and actions, but we place more weight on the latter.” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said at a briefing that “we see this as a relocation, not an actual withdrawal,” and “no one should be fooled by the Kremlin’s announcement.”
Ukraine has not lifted its borders either. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video speech that there was “no reason to believe the Russian claims to reduce the attack on Kii”. Even after the negotiations were over, Russia did not stop attacking in Kiiu and Chernivu. According to Ukrainian authorities, Russian troops attacked overnight in Irfin, Cherniv, and western Khmelnitsky on the outskirts of Kiiu, as well as fighting in Kiiu.
▲ Skyline Peace
Russian astronaut Anton Shkaplerov (left), who has served as the commander of the International Space Station (ISS), held the key that symbolized the command of the space station in the presence of 10 astronauts ahead of his return to Earth on the 29th (Korean time). Handing it to NASA astronaut Thomas Marshburn (right). “On Earth, we have problems, but in orbit, we are a team,” Shkaplerov emphasized during the transfer of command.
NASA UPI Yonhap News
Peace negotiations are mountains beyond mountains. Russian Kremlin spokeswoman Dmitry Peskov said on the 30th that “there was no breakthrough in the talks,” and that “Crimea is not something that can be discussed with anyone else as Russian territory.” This is a rebuttal to Ukraine’s proposal to discuss the status of Crimea over the next 15 years. Regarding the ‘collective security guarantee’ requested by Ukraine, the New York Times (NYT) pointed out that “it is not clear which country of the security agencies signed such a guarantee.”
As long as Russia does not stop inhumane acts towards civilians, the conflict is expected to continue. “There is no guarantee that Putin will give up his aspirations to undermine Ukraine’s national status if Russia secures the eastern coast,” CNN said.
Reporter Lee Jae-yeon
Correspondent Kim So-ra
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