Ukrainian negotiators have been in a war of words as well as a war of bullets and bombs. Now there’s a flurry of diplomacy and careful politics.
On Tuesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made another international appearance without leaving his Kyiv office. He addressed Denmark’s parliament in Copenhagen.
He told Danish lawmakers that “the brutality is more violent than what we have seen during World War II.” He also repeated that what has and is happening in the southern city of Mariupol is a “crime against humanity.”
Zelenskyy has made online speeches to parliaments in several countries, including the U.S., UK, Sweden, Germany, Canada, Japan, and the EU. He is maintaining pressure on Moscow and reminding Western governments to keep their international sanctions in place.
“The sanctions against Russia have to be strengthened, all the time. One has to refrain from Russian oil. One has to block trade with the Russian Federation, one has to close one’s ports to Russian ships. This has to be the solidarity politics of the EU, of all member countries.”
An essential ceasefireÂ
Ukraine wants a security guarantee system from the peace talks in Istanbul. A ceasefire is a must for Zelenskyy’s government.
Minister and negotiators will keep reiterating military neutrality and not allow foreign military bases on its territory. Countries like Turkey, Poland, and Canada are seen as possible guarantors in this process.
Negotiators added a referendum would likely be held over any Russian terms and that Ukraine would want full peace agreements in place.
Russia has simply described the talks as being “constructive.”
Russian and Ukrainian delegates in Istanbul listening to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Attacks continueÂ
Meanwhile, attacks have continued and there have been more casualties. At least seven people were killed after a missile struck a regional government building in the southern city of Mykolayiv. Twenty-two people were also injured, and a huge hole was left in the nine-story building.
According to the Russia-based news agency Tass, and deputy defense minister Alexander Fomin, Russia will “radically reduce” military activity outside Kyiv and Chernihiv. This follows the reports of a significant re-grouping by units of the Russian military in northern Ukraine, possibly to focus on the Donbas region.
Nuclear fears
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) director arrived in Ukraine to talk about safety and security at the country’s four active nuclear sites. The IAEA’s director Rafael Mariano Grossi wants to offer technical assistance to try and avoid any nuclear accidents. There have been concerns about Russian troops near the Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia atomic sites.
“The military conflict is putting Ukraine’s nuclear power plants and other facilities with radioactive material in unprecedented danger,” Grossi says.
Around half of Ukraine’s energy comes from nuclear reactors at Rivno, Khmelnitsky, South Ukraine, and Zaporizhzhia.
