Zelenskyy: “There will be a new Nuremberg” – US general rules out Ukraine’s victory this year
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks at a press conference during the Bucha summit.
© Source: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP
Kyiv. Regarding the casualties and destruction caused by Russia’s war of aggression, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged justice for his country. “Justice for our state, for all our people who lost their relatives, their friends, their health, their home and their normal life because of the Russian aggression, because of the terror of the occupying forces,” he said in his evening video address on Friday
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Selenskyj: “There will be a new Nuremberg”
Zelenskyj commemorated the victims of the short Russian occupation on Friday in the Kiev suburb of Bucha with international guests. Moldovan President Maia Sandu and the heads of government of Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia – Eduard Heger, Robert Golob and Andrej Plenkovic – took part in the commemoration.
After their invasion a good 13 months ago, Russian troops captured the small town of Bucha near Kiev in early March 2022. On March 30th they withdrew again. Three days later, published images of the bound bodies of civilians caused international outrage. Bucha is a symbol of Russian war crimes around the world.
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Zelenskyj takes stock after 400 days of war in Ukraine
Despite thousands of deaths and great destruction, President Zelenskyj proudly speaks of his country’s heroism.
© Source: dpa
In the afternoon, Zelenskyi and his guests held a United for Justice conference, at which Ukraine intends to rally support for the prosecution of Russian war crimes. “And the day will come when the world will hear that justice has been restored to Ukraine,” Zelenskyi announced. “There will be a new Nuremberg – against the racists,” said the President, alluding to the Nuremberg trials after the Second World War.
Zelenskyj and US general on possible end of war
At his meeting with foreign heads of state and government, Zelenskyi reaffirmed his vision of a peaceful solution. First, a representative of Russia – whoever that might be, he doesn’t know – must withdraw all troops from all areas of Ukraine without a fight. “Then the diplomatic format begins,” Zelenskyy was quoted as saying by the Ukrainian media. However, should Ukraine be forced to forcefully expel all Russians, then there would be nothing to talk about in view of the many victims. “Then what should you even talk about with people like that?”
Meanwhile, US Chief of Staff General Mark Milley said in an interview with Defense One that Ukraine’s victory this year is unlikely. He does not expect Ukraine to be able to oust all Russian troops from Ukrainian territory this year. “Zelenskyy has said publicly on numerous occasions that Ukraine’s goal is to expel every Russian from Russian-held Ukraine,” Milley said in the report. This is a major military task. “A very, very difficult military task.” He estimates that several hundred thousand Russian soldiers are still in Ukraine.
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Nuclear weapons: Zelenskyj accuses Russia of losing touch with reality
For Zelenskyy, Russia’s intention to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus is a sign that the meeting between Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin and China’s head of state Xi Jinping was not crowned with success. “One should have shown Russia a sense of reality that the country has completely lost under President Putin,” Ukrayinska Pravda quoted Zelenskyy as saying. Putin received Xi in Moscow the previous week. In addition, Belarus’ ruler Alexander Lukashenko has lost all independence, said Zelenskyj. “I don’t think he decides what weapons are on his territory anymore.”
Against the background of high tensions with the West as a result of the Ukraine war, Putin recently announced that he would station tactical nuclear weapons in the neighboring ex-Soviet republic of Belarus. He justified the stationing by saying that the USA had been doing something similar in Europe for years.
UN warn of nuclear escalation after Belarus announcement
After the Russian announcement to station nuclear weapons in Belarus, the United Nations warned of an escalation. “All states must avoid measures that could lead to escalations, mistakes or misjudgments,” said the UN representative for disarmament issues, Izumi Nakamitsu, on Friday before the UN Security Council in New York. The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons must also be observed.
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Kiev: Russian military attacks civilian targets again
The Ukrainian military leadership accused the Russian armed forces of again focusing on civilian targets. “Having failed to achieve the desired results on the battlefield, the enemy continues to cynically terrorize the civilian population of our country,” the Ukrainian general staff’s evening situation report said on Friday. Among other things, the city of Zaporizhia and other places were attacked with ballistic missiles. At least six so-called kamikaze drones were shot down by the Ukrainian air defense. The information could not be independently verified.
According to the generals in Kiev, the Russian ground troops continued their attacks at Avdiivka, Marjinka and Bakhmut in the east of the country. Russian troops continued to try to take full control of the city of Bakhmut, which had been heavily fought over for months.
Ukrainian Air Force uses “smart” bombs
As part of military aid from the West, so-called smart bombs are now available to the Ukrainian Air Force. “We now have bombs called JDAM,” Air Force spokesman Yuri Ihnat said on television on Friday. In principle, JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition) are conversion kits developed in the USA for conventional bombs which, thanks to a navigation system, become highly precise weapons. “These bombs are a little less powerful, but they are extremely accurate,” said Ihnat. “We would like to have more of these bombs to be successful on the front lines.”
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RND/dpa/scs