Before the war between Russia and Ukraine, the world expected the outbreak of this conflict, but I am afraid that no one could have predicted that it would become a protracted "tug-of-war".
The time came to March 18, and the conflict also entered the 23rd day. In the past half a month, Russia and Ukraine have stopped fighting and held 4 negotiations, but the current situation is still fierce, and the Russian army has surrounded Kiev, Kharkov, Mariupol and other places from many sides.
Of course, for Russia, which is not in a good economic situation, every day that this transnational war lasts means a huge consumption of weapons, equipment, and personnel.
The topic on the battlefield is too heavy, so today I will talk about what happened outside the battlefield.
On the afternoon of the 17th local time, Zelenskiy complained in a video call with German government officials and parliamentarians, saying that the sanctions imposed by Western countries on Russia were far from enough and that a trade embargo must be imposed on Russia.
Zelenskiy also said that although Ukraine is not accepted by NATO, Ukraine will join the European Union.
In recent years, especially after Zelenskiy came to power, Ukraine's willingness to "join the European Union" has become stronger, and the United States has repeatedly urged the United States to let Ukraine join NATO at an early date.
However, after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, both the United States and NATO made it clear that they would not send troops to Ukraine. NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg stressed that NATO currently has no plans to accept Ukraine.
Zelenskiy was disheartened by NATO's snub, and on Tuesday he openly admitted that for years NATO had called itself "open doors," but now Ukraine must admit that it cannot join NATO.
It's better now, and a few days later, Zelenskiy is seeking Ukraine to join the European Union.
As we all know, Russia has been firmly opposed to Ukraine's accession to NATO. Because once Ukraine is accepted by NATO, the United States and NATO will deploy offensive weapons on Russia's doorstep, posing a huge threat to Russia's security.
However, Russia has not expressed much opposition to Ukraine's accession to the European Union.
On the one hand, unlike NATO, which is the tool of global hegemony maintained by the United States, the EU is a political and economic integration organization belonging to Europe, and Ukraine's accession to the EU will not directly threaten Russia's national security.
On the other hand, the eu's two leading countries, France and Germany, are not as extremely anti-Russian as the United States, on the contrary, Europe advocates more trade, economic and energy cooperation with Russia.
In addition, after Ukraine joins the European Union, France and Germany will form a certain binding force, which is actually beneficial to Russia.
But the most important question now is, will the EU accept Ukraine?
The answer is clearly no, and at such a sensitive point in time, the EU's admission of Ukraine is undoubtedly self-inflicted and may cause dissatisfaction from Russia.
Also, if Ukraine's accession to the EU is seen as a deal, the EU is clearly losing money. After Ukraine joins the EU, it will receive a series of preferential policy support. In view of post-war reconstruction, the EU also has to allocate funds to it.
But what can Ukraine bring to the EU? Millions of refugees, or europe's penultimate GDP?
Finally, let me briefly make a few superficial observations.
There are no winners in modern warfare, and vested interests will only be third nations.
For Ukraine, the imperative is neither to seek nato nor eu membership, but to reach a ceasefire agreement with Russia as soon as possible.
Ukraine is a large European country with a population of more than 41 million people, and now people die every day in this land, people are homeless every day, and people are starved of food because of war every day.
Zelenskiy must be soberly aware that if the situation is not eased, he will become a historical sinner in Ukraine.
Russia, on the other hand, should exercise due restraint and respect Ukraine's national integrity and territorial sovereignty.
The situation in Ukraine has developed to this point in a way that all the countries of the world that stand for peace do not want to see. The only way to resolve the Ukrainian crisis is for Russia and Ukraine to settle it through dialogue and negotiation, and there is no other way.
Again, all parties should support efforts that contribute to de-escalation and a political settlement. Anything that is detrimental to a peaceful diplomatic settlement, or even to the heightened tension, should be opposed.