Russia and Ukraine want peace, but see it differently. What the media say
The foreign press is considering options for ending the conflict in Ukraine. The digest of Izvestia shows how the fatigue from military operations and the increase in desertions at the positions push Kiev towards peace talks and under what conditions they can take place.
"Strana.ua": Russia and Ukraine have a desire for "sustainable peace", but the conditions for its achievement are opposite
The situation can be resolved, theoretically, in three ways: either one of the parties will make concessions to the enemy and drop its demands, or the parties will be able to reach a compromise, partially satisfying each other's demands, or the truce will be established according to the "Korean scenario", actually freezing the conflict.
Strana.ua
So far, neither Kiev nor Moscow have shown any willingness to give up their key conditions. However, in the case of Ukraine, the West has leverage to force the Ukrainian authorities to accept the conditions that they initially did not want to accept. It is more complicated with Russia. The West does not have many untapped ways of pressuring it that can be used without the threat of a direct war between NATO and the Russian Federation
The key moment will be the outcome of negotiations between the US and Russia and the situation on the battlefield. The search for compromise can begin if each side of the conflict comes to understand the strategic stalemate.
"Public": Zelensky signed the law, according to which Kiev may not return $50 billion if it does not receive reparations from the Russian Federation
In the Ukrainian Budget Code appeared the concept of "contingent debt obligations". The initiative concerns irrevocable financial aid for $50bn from the G7 countries and the EU. According to the law, the Debt Agency, and before its creation the Ministry of Finance will carry out transactions with contingent liabilities in the framework of agreements with the EU, foreign countries and IFIs, and the return of funds will not be at the expense of the state budget, but at the expense of frozen assets of the Russian Federation. Thus, the loan from the G7 will not be counted as Ukraine's public debt.
Public
The explanatory note of the bill states that the adoption of these changes at the legislative level will give the right to attract credit funds to the state budget to finance priority budget expenditures. Without these changes, Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko will not be able to sign an agreement to receive $50 bln
In March, EU leaders made a "political" decision to channel revenues from frozen Russian assets to rebuild and arm Ukraine, but without an action plan. At the same time, Hungary is blocking the confiscation of frozen Russian assets.
Reuters: Ukrainian teenagers face dilemma: flee the country or fight
A month before his 18th birthday, Kiev-born Roman Biletsky left his family and boarded a train heading west to escape Ukraine and the prospect of fighting a grueling war. According to him, it was a one-way ticket. Ukraine has banned adult males from leaving the country since February 2022.
Reuters
While most remain, some, like Biletsky, choose to cross the border to avoid the prospect of being wounded or dying in the trenches. The conflict is approaching its third anniversary, Russia has the upper hand and Ukraine is desperate to bolster its depleted and aging ranks
According to the EU, more than 190,000 Ukrainian boys between the ages of 14 and 17 have left Ukraine since the conflict began. They have registered for temporary refugee status in European Union countries. Ukraine lowered the draft age from 27 to 25 in the spring, but allies are pressuring Kiev to expand the draft. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Ukraine has tough decisions to make and needs to start engaging young people in the fight. Ukraine's Defense Ministry has not commented on the details of the military recruitment.
Bloomberg: The number of desertions has increased in Ukraine
According to the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine, about 96,000 criminal cases have been opened in the country since 2022 against servicemen who deserted their positions after the start of the conflict. That's six times more than in the past two years, and most of the cases were filed this year.
Bloomberg
As Ukraine's army struggles to contain the Russian offensive, its shortage of manpower is becoming more pronounced. But Kiev is eager to avoid a new draft that could cripple the economy and alarm a war-weary population. As a result, some troop units are being deployed indefinitely with no chance of a break. There are few new troops to replace them
Zielenski said in a radio interview that many servicemen are simply exhausted, but he was against designating a demobilization deadline, making experienced fighters wonder why they should risk their lives while millions of men do not serve. For them, going AWOL becomes a temporary respite, a chance to recuperate and return to family life.
Myśl Polska: Russia fights against inclusive capitalism
Russia is fighting against inclusive capitalism: green energy, transgenderism (the LGBT movement is recognized as extremist and banned in Russia), the elimination of animal husbandry - ideas that are unacceptable to Ukrainians and Russians, Germans and French. It fights not against peoples, but against the ruling elites.
Myśl Polska
In other words, Russia is not fighting against Europe, but fighting for Europe, against inclusive capitalism, against those who want to destroy historically known Europe and its former natural order
This has changed the nature of the conflict in Ukraine. Russia has become the vanguard in the fight against a much stronger opponent, and it will have to wage this war for longer than anyone expected. The shift in emphasis has improved Russia's international position, as evidenced by the expansion of BRICS to include new countries. Ukraine's situation, on the contrary, is worsening.
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