Russia is massing a new group of troops near the Ukrainian border and preparing for another attempted offensive. This was stated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a video address from today. According to him, the invaders will try to advance 90 km from Kharkiv.
"Close to our border, the Russian Federation is gathering another group of troops and is preparing to attempt an offensive 90 km from Kharkiv to the northwest," said Zelensky, who recorded his address from Kharkiv.
It is an appeal to world leaders and aims not only to provide reliable air defense for Ukraine, but also to invite world leaders to the summit in Switzerland.
"We all know who we are dealing with. Russia is led by people who want to make the burning of lives, the destruction of cities and villages, the division of nations and the obliteration of national borders through war the norm. It's a pleasure for them to burn." Volodymyr Zelensky uttered his words against the background of Zeta books burned by rocket strikes in the destroyed printing house two days ago in Kharkiv. In the video there are shots from a drone and from Bakhmut, Avdeevka, Vagledar,
"No nation can stop such a war by its own efforts alone."
"I am now in Kharkiv. It is a city in eastern Ukraine and, unfortunately, very close to the Russian border. What does this mean for Kharkiv? Third year of constant terror. More than a million people in this city. And every night, every day, the Russian army shelled the city. Especially with the S-300 missiles. These are anti-aircraft missiles used by Russia to terrorize the earth. Now in Kharkiv there is not a single district of the city and not a single street that does not suffer from this constant bullying."
Zelensky also adds that Russia has also added strikes with guided bombs, Russian aviation is approaching the border and launching these bombs right at the city. "This is a weapon of indiscriminate destruction," Zelensky points out and recalls that hundreds of other Ukrainian cities and villages are also under such terror. "Some of them, where life once seethed, are now simply burnt to ashes. The scorched void is the most terrible consequence of war. A war that we in Ukraine did not want. And which we did not provoke. And in which Ukraine defends itself against Russia's attempt to seize our resources and territories and destroy our national identity. And the world sees it."
Zelensky then invited the world leaders, namely American President Biden and Chinese President Xi, to the summit, organized jointly with Switzerland and dedicated to the search for peace. For the forum in mid-June, Zelensky calls for global efforts.
"I am addressing the world leaders who are still on the sidelines of the global effort to prepare for the Peace Summit. To President Biden, Leader of the United States. To President Xi, the leader of China. We do not want the UN Charter to burn - to burn in the same way as these books. And I hope you don't either. Please show your leadership in establishing peace - real peace, not a pause between strikes. The efforts of the majority in the world are the best guarantee for the fulfillment of obligations. Please support the Peace Summit with your personal leadership and participation.
"It will be a pleasure for all of us to establish peace", are Zelensky's closing words from the video.
More than eighty countries have confirmed their participation in the Switzerland Forum. However, there is no confirmation that Joe Biden will personally attend, and China has not yet confirmed even that it will send a representative.
Two days ago, Brazil and China called for an international conference to end the war, but to be recognized by both Moscow and Kiev. In a joint statement, the two countries, which, according to the assurances of their diplomacy, take a neutral position, set out a "shared understanding" for the path to cessation of hostilities. The declaration followed a meeting between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Brazilian President Celso Amorim's chief adviser, and was the first document signed by China with another country on the conflict in Ukraine to somehow offer an alternative.
Back in February 2023, China published its 12-point plan, which, however, due to its general nature, did not meet understanding and, accordingly, support.
And the joint statement with Brazil, however, generally repeats the wording used earlier by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
"China and Brazil support the holding of an international peace conference at an appropriate time, which will be recognized by both Russia and Ukraine, with equal participation of all parties to fairly discuss peace plans," the joint statement said .
The statement by China and Brazil coincided with reports in Western media that Russian President Vladimir Putin was ready to negotiate an end to hostilities. Although not clear enough, and also from anonymous sources, it became clear that these negotiations reiterate Moscow's thesis of negotiations taking into account modern realities, i.e. recognition of the achievements of the occupation of the Russian army. Ukraine reacted sharply and quickly with a statement by Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who assessed the messages as an attempt by Russian propaganda to thwart the peace conference in Switzerland and achieve a temporary freeze in the conflict, during which time it would simply prepare for a new offensive.
Other analysts and observers made similar claims in the following days, and Vladimir Putin himself from Minsk undermined the thesis of peace talks by speaking about the illegitimacy of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Yesterday, the President of Ukraine Zelensky gave an interview from Kharkiv to six journalists from independent publications in Central Asia, which was conducted in Russian. The journalists themselves requested that the interview be in Russian so that "there are no insinuations or misunderstandings in connection with the translation". Despite the agreement, Zelensky states that he is doing this because the media is not from Russia and admits that "at one point it became very difficult to speak Russian" in Ukraine. After the daily attacks by Russia, and even on cities like Kharkiv, where Russia has been considered a friend and neighbor for many years, and with the daily Ukrainian victims - this is how Volodymyr Zelensky explained the moment of turning in the attitude towards the Russian language - "In principle, everyone knows , everyone speaks (Russian language), but there is direct hatred and anger towards everything Russian because of all these deaths."