Source: Patch One Knife
Penman/Sword Laugh &Nagging Sister
The latest news is that the vast area of Kiev from north to west is being attacked by a new round of fierce attacks by Russian troops.
After a short break, today the Russians once again launched a fierce attack on the main ukrainian cities. Several important battlefields on the northern and southern fronts were also caught in fierce exchanges of fire. Among them, the battle of Nikolayev became a current focus, which would determine the speed of the Russian army's further westward attack on Odessa.
The two sides have increased mutual accusations around the humanitarian crisis, and whether the evacuation channels for civilians in the main battlefields can be smoothly opened is still a question mark.
Outside the battlefield, the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations continue to attract widespread attention.
Just now, the Russian delegation has arrived at the belarusian negotiating site. The third round of talks between the two sides is expected to begin at 10:00 Beijing time tonight.
After Ukraine's main negotiators made a statement that they would not apply to join NATO again, will this round of negotiations make positive progress?
The prospects for negotiations are uncertain, but the United States and other Western countries are worried about "adding fuel to the fire" and brewing "new three tricks" against Russia...
1
Since the beginning of night last night, the capital Kiev, Kharkiv and Chernihiv on the northern front, and the southern city of Nikolayev have been attacked by the latest wave of fierce missiles by the Russian army.
Among them, Nikolaev became a focal point of the current Ukrainian battlefield.
As of the early hours of this morning, the southern port city was still under heavy Russian artillery fire. The New York Times reporter said that a violent explosion occurred in the eastern suburbs of the city, and a large area of the sky around the scene was illuminated, and it is not clear what the target of the explosion was.
The fierce battle over Nikolaev has been going on for three days.
The city has one of the three largest ports in Ukraine and is considered a strategic point on the choke point where Russian troops are advancing westward to Odessa Oblast. There are reports that the Russian army once invaded the city and controlled the airport, and then was forced to retreat by the Ukrainian army.
In fact, Zelenskiy had already "predicted" in advance that the Russian army was regrouping and would launch a new attack on the main cities of Ukraine today. In his latest speech, he accused russian forces of preparing to bomb Ukraine's main military production facilities, most of which are located in densely populated cities.
Zelenskiy again accused Russia of undermining a ceasefire agreement designed to allow civilians to evacuate, saying russian attacks had resulted in serious civilian casualties.
I don't know whether it is a response to the accusations of the Ukrainian side and the Western media, the Russian army announced this morning that starting from 10:00 a.m. local time on the 7th, the Russian armed forces will implement ceasefires in many places.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that while entering a "state of silence", humanitarian routes will be opened in Kiev, Mariupol, Kharkiv and Samui to ensure the evacuation of civilians. During this period, the Russian military will use drones and other monitoring to prevent deception and sabotage in Ukraine.
2
While the battlefield continues to gel and blame each other on humanitarian issues, both Russia and Ukraine today updated a set of data.
A spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry told the media that since the start of the special military special operation, the Russian armed forces have destroyed 2396 Ukrainian military installations. These included 14 Ukrainian aircraft, helicopters and drones shot down by the Russian Air Force and air defense forces.
Ukraine's defense minister also spoke out today, saying that since the outbreak of the war, more than 140,000 Ukrainians, most of them men, have returned to their homeland from Europe. Tens of thousands of them joined the Ukrainian territorial defense forces and participated in the war against Russia.
Outside the battlefield, the third round of negotiations between the two sides has also attracted the attention of the international community.
According to the latest news from the Russian media, the third round of talks was originally scheduled to be held in the afternoon of March 7, local time. Both delegations have departed for the site of the negotiations in Brest, Belarus. However, due to the course of the Ukrainian delegation, the time of the negotiations may change.
Just yesterday, the main negotiator of the Ukrainian side, Allahomiya, said that in the next 5 to 10 years, NATO is not ready to discuss the issue of Ukraine joining the organization. Therefore, the Ukrainian side will no longer commit to submitting an application to join NATO, but will discuss some kind of "non-NATO model".
What exactly does this "non-NATO model" mean?
Arahamia said that Ukrainians can obtain direct security guarantees from the United States, Britain, Germany, France and other countries. On this issue, it is not only Russia that ukraine must engage in dialogue, but also be open to discussing this matter with more countries.
For this statement, the Russian side has not yet responded.
Although we have still not given up our efforts to obtain security guarantees from the United States and European countries, and on the issue of Crimea and Eastern Ukraine, we still emphasize that the issue of maintaining territorial integrity will never compromise, but the Ukrainian side has taken the initiative to propose a "non-NATO model", which has aroused widespread concern from the outside world:
Will this have a positive impact on the upcoming Russia-Ukraine negotiations?
3
The war still shows no signs of ending for the time being, and outside the battlefield, Washington is struggling to figure out three ways to create more trouble for Moscow.
The first is to "change the machine".
Ukrainian President Zelenskiy said directly to the United States on the 5th that he wanted more fighters, and it was best to make Russian fighters, because Ukrainians were accustomed to using such fighters.
Of course, the United States did not have a Russian-made warplane, but it did not refuse, but set its sights on Ukraine's neighbor Poland.
It has been revealed that the Biden administration is discussing the possibility that Poland will hand over its Russian-made warplanes to Ukraine, and the resulting shortfall in fighters will be filled by the United States with F-16s.
There are many real-world problems.
It needs to be approved by the White House and Congress first, and then it depends on the attitude of Poland. Poland's current stance is that it "will never support it". The Polish Prime Minister's Office reconfirmed on Twitter yesterday that "Poland will not hand over the warplanes to Ukraine and will not agree to open the airport." We have been very helpful in many (other) places. ”
It's just that anything is possible.
U.S. Secretary of State Blinken said: "We are actively studying the possibility that Poland could provide aircraft to Ukraine, and we are studying how we can fill the gap in Poland's aircraft if Poland decides to provide aircraft." ...... I can't say the timetable, I can only say that we are looking at this matter very, very positively. ”
Even if the "change" plan is finally achieved, how to ship the F-16 to Poland is not easy, because the F-16 has sensitive aviation equipment components, and shipping overseas may not be legal.
The next batch of F-16 fighters in the United States is scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan, which is a real money and silver deal. However, perhaps Bay Bay is willing to do such a "dedication".
There is also an ultimate trick, that is, to attack Russian oil.
The White House is discussing with European countries the possibility of banning the import of Russian oil.
The "positivity" of the White House can be imagined. The U.S. portion of its oil imports comes from Russia, which is relatively small.
Inciting the flames is always indispensable to the Speaker of the House of Representatives Pelosi. She made clear that the House of Representatives was studying the possibility of enacting a bill banning oil and energy exports from Russia to the United States "to further isolate Russia from the world economy."
But without European support, the Biden administration would have limited effect even if it took measures against Russia's energy sector. Europe is quite dependent on Russian oil and gas, so there was a common perception that any sanctions imposed on russia's energy sector were considered almost impossible.
It's just that this "impossible" seems to be changing.
Or Blinken, he said hintily, "we are engaged in dialogue with European partners and allies to study the prospect of banning the import of Russian oil in a coordinated manner, while ensuring that there is still an appropriate supply of oil on the world market ... It was a very lively discussion. ”
"Very active", the product...
While considering "changing machines" and "banning oil", Washington is also preparing a post-move: "liquidation".
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda said yesterday morning that the United States is "working with our partners to gather information about potential war crimes."
Zelensky has directly described what happened in Ukraine as a "war crime", British Prime Minister Johnson has made similar accusations, and the International Criminal Court in The Hague has launched an investigation into potential war crimes.
Now that the U.S. has stepped up, Linda says , "Any attack on civilians is a war crime." Blinken also confirmed that "we have seen very credible reports of deliberate attacks on civilians that would constitute war crimes." ”
In addition to hatching big moves, the United States and the West are preparing for a possible end to the war.
One of them is how to help Ukraine form a government-in-exile if it is defeated. A top European diplomat revealed that the U.N. General Assembly's resolution condemning Russia "lays the groundwork for him to continue to gain international recognition even if Zelensky is forced into exile."
4
Together with the war, the most bitter are the people.
The United Nations said on the 6th that more than 1.5 million people have fled Ukraine within 10 days, which is "the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II".
Scarily, this number is still increasing dramatically.
At this time, the international community not only needs to prevent the emergence of a large-scale humanitarian crisis, but also needs to persuade peace and promote talks.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi just spoke to Zelenskiy today and continues to reiterate his hope that Russia and Ukraine will resolve their disputes through peace and dialogue.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and French President Emmanuel Macron... Successive phone calls were made to Putin. In a phone call with Erdogan, Putin clarified two conditions for Russia to halt its military operations: Ukraine would stop fighting and Moscow's demands would be met.
For now, however, this seems like a dead knot.
The ukrainian problem is complex and certainly not a one-day solution. But one thing is clear, as State Councilor Wang Yi said, "To solve complex problems, we need calmness and rationality, not to add fuel to the fire and intensify contradictions." ”
This sentence is worth pondering in the United States and other Western countries.