The war in Ukraine He turns 400 days old this Friday. The main clashes between Russian and Ukrainian forces continue to take place in Bakhmut, as the epicenter of the Donbas conflict. Russia continues with offensive operations in and around Bakhmut and along the axis of the Avdiivka-Donetsk city front.
He Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, He proposes declaring a ceasefire in Ukraine, although “without the possibility of regrouping troops” and has called the idea of a counter-offensive by Ukrainian forces “extremely dangerous”. during the Russian invasion.
The NATO celebrated the “historic” ratification of the access protocol to the Finnish military organization following the decision of the Turkish Parliament completing the process of membership in the 30 NATO allies. The secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, calls for rapid ratification of Sweden.
On February 24, 2022, the President of Russia Vladimir Putinordered the Russian offensive in the country in what he called a “special military operation”.
Since then, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that about 20 million people have fled Ukraine, since the beginning of the Russian military offensive, which he considers to be the fastest exodus in Europe since World War II. That is, more than 48.6% of the population –estimated at almost 41 million in 2021– would have left Ukrainian territory.
Situation of the war in Ukraine on March 31, 2023 / Map: EA According to him last report of Institute Study of War (ISW) (1) stresses that Russian forces “continue offensive operations in and around Bakhmut and along the axis of the Avdiivka-Donetsk city front“.
On the other hand, the ISW also claims that Russian forces continue to carry out “ground attacks along the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line“.
Also, the think tank American reports that “The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, affirms that plans to guarantee the safety of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant have evolved.“.
The President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has proposed this Friday to declare a ceasefire in Ukraine although “without the possibility of regrouping troops” and has branded as “extremely dangerous” the idea of a counter-offensive by Ukrainian forces within the framework of of the Russian invasion.
“I will try to run the risk of offering a truce in Ukraine, but without the possibility of regrouping and moving equipment,” he said in a message to the Belarusian Parliament in which he stressed that a Ukrainian counteroffensive “is the worst thing that It can happen right now.”
Thus, he has indicated that these actions “would make it impossible to start peace negotiations under current conditions, a process that must be launched as soon as possible,” in his opinion.
However, he has qualified that internally, in Ukraine the parties “have already begun to negotiate” unofficially, according to information collected by the BelTA news agency. “People don’t want to fight”, he said before adding that the position of the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelenski, is “ridiculous”.
For this reason, he has highlighted the importance of agreeing to negotiate with Russia as soon as possible and has pointed out that “the Russian Army is now operating at its maximum capacity”. “We have to stop this now, before there is another escalation of hostilities,” she said.
In addition, he has accused the Polish authorities of trying to “double” the capabilities of their Armed Forces as they prepare an attack on Belarus. “They are preparing to invade our territory and destroy the country,” he pointed out before emphasizing that the Polish Army will soon receive 366 Abrams tanks and other types of weapons and heavy vehicles.
Lukashenko has also defended that “the return to nuclear weapons is not about intimidation or blackmail, but about an opportunity to guarantee the security of the Belarusian state and its population.”
Likewise, he pointed out that the outbreak of a third nuclear world war “is getting closer and closer and can only be avoided through negotiations.” “You have to negotiate without preconditions,” she said.
NATO has celebrated this Thursday the “historic” ratification of the protocol of access to the Finnish military organization after the decision of the Turkish Parliament that completes the accession process in the 30 NATO allies.
“I have just spoken with the Finnish president, Sauli Niinisto, to congratulate him on this historic event. Finland will formally join our Alliance in the coming days. Its entry will make Finland safer and NATO stronger”, the Secretary General assessed. , Jens Stoltenberg, in a recorded message.
Once the members of the alliance and the candidates have approved the accession protocols, the documents must be sent to the United States, where they are deposited with the Department of State. The aspiring country only becomes a member of NATO when Washington has all the documents, a step that allied sources hope can be ready this Tuesday, when the NATO foreign ministers meet, in what could be the Finland’s first meeting as a full member.
Stoltenberg has valued the means and resources of the Finnish Army, as well as the high democratic standards of the Nordic country, to conclude that Finland “will contribute a lot” to NATO.
The former Norwegian Prime Minister ended the message with a reference to the situation in Sweden, whose process has finally been separated from that of Finland despite the fact that both countries applied for entry at the same time and their procedures have gone in parallel.
Finland and its neighbor Sweden jointly requested their entry into NATO in May, an entry that the Atlantic Alliance was betting would be ‘express’ and ready for the Madrid summit. However, Turkish reluctance due to the alleged collusion of the Swedes and Finns with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the People’s Protection Units (YPG) frustrated immediate processing.
“All Allies agree that a swift completion of Sweden’s ratification process is in everyone’s interest. I look forward to also welcoming Sweden as a full member of the NATO family as soon as possible,” Stoltenberg has pointed out.
Now NATO sets the Lithuanian summit next July as the new deadline for Stockholm’s accession. To do this, the Turkish Assembly should be set up quickly in June after the impasse in the presidential elections on May 14 in which Recep Tayyip Erdogan is running for re-election.
Flow of refugees from Ukraine to other countries as of March 27, 2023 / Map: EA The number of refugees who have crossed the border from Ukraine into the rest of Europe it continues to grow since the start of the war in Ukraine, unleashed by order of Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24.
He United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that more than 19.7 million people have fled Ukraine, since the beginning of the Russian military offensive, which he considers to be the fastest exodus in Europe since World War II. Until the 48% of the population –estimated at almost 41 million in 2021– would have left Ukrainian territory.
According to the latest UNHCR data (2), 19,952,229 people have left Ukrainian territory as of March 27, 2023. By countries, 10.452.014 Ukrainian refugees have already arrived Poland, 2.852.395 a Russia (October 3, 2022), 2.414.914 a Hungary, 2.153.896 a Romania (March 26th), 1.266.790 a Slovakia (March 26th), 795.585 a Moldavia (March 26) and 16.705 a belarus (March 21st).
The High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that more than 8.1 million Ukrainian refugees have already been registered on European territory, and that five they would be in a situation of Temporary Protection, due to the Russian invasion of his country.
References
- (1) Institute for Study of War (ISW).
- (2) United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).