The past week seemed difficult for Ukraine: the enemy launched missile attacks on civilian infrastructure in various regions, resulting in dozens of deaths and injuries.
However, for Russia, the week was difficult, too. They suffered several defeats on the economic, diplomatic, and military fronts.
For the rf, the week began with the first technical default on foreign currency sovereign debt since 1918. russia had to pay USD 100 million on two issues of their Eurobonds denominated in dollars and euros. However, due to sanctions imposed on the country, no funds were received into the accounts of creditors.
Later, the NATO summit was held in Madrid, where russia was first recognized as the Alliance's main threat. NATO, which enlargement was so strongly opposed by the RF, invited Sweden and Finland to join (the latter borders russia). In addition, during the summit, US President, Joe Biden,announced that Ukraine will receive heavy weapons, including tanks, MRLS, anti-ship and ASW systems, as well as ammunition, from Western partners coordinating work in the format of the Ramstein group of countries.
Another failure of Russia was the defeat on the Snake Island. After a series of Ukrainian attacks, the rf was forced to withdraw the wreckage of their military contingent. In addition, russia lacked the courage to admit their defeat, and they repeatedly called their retreat an act of goodwill.
Madrid Fiasco for the rf: NATO Supports Ukraine,Recognizes russia as a Threat, and Invites Finland and Sweden to Join the Alliance
On June 29–30, 2022, a summit of NATO member states was held in Madrid, where participants adopted a number of important decisions that will determine the strategic track of the Alliance's development for the near and far future. In particular, they adopted a new Strategic Concept of the Alliance for the next 10 years, which defines russia as “the most significant and direct threat to the Alliance’s security.” In addition, Finland and Sweden were officially invited to become members of NATO. They also adopted a number of decisions aimed at supporting Ukraine in the long term,ensuring the transition of the Armed Forces from Soviet-time equipment to modern NATO weapons.
In their statement, Ukrainian politicians publicly supported the new NATO strategy, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, who spoke via videolink, called on the Alliance member states to find a format for Ukraine’s full participation in the common European security architecture. Instead, russian politicians have fallen into tantrums about the outcome of the Madrid summit.
“Ukraine’s goals are exactly the same as those of the Alliance. We are interested in security and stability on the European continent, and in the world. It is in our interest that the lives of nations are determined not by the infamous Munich speech of one leader, but by international law. We are interested in the absence of any ‘grey zones’ and territories of total war, where there is nothing left but ruins. NATO is also interested in this,” Zelensky said.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba,thanked the Alliance for their active position on Ukraine. “Today in Madrid, NATO proved that it can make difficult but important decisions. We welcome the clear position on Russia, as well as the accession of Finland and Sweden. An equally strong and active position on Ukraine will help to protect Euro-Atlantic security and stability,” Kuleba said.
Member of the negotiating group of Ukraine, Mykhailo Podoliak, said that the summit outcomes indicate that Western leaders are ready to give a decisive rebuff to Russia. “‘Ukraine must win through the militarily method’, ‘Russia threatens the whole world’ – these are key messages of the NATO summit. putin's first fatal mistake was to underestimate Ukraine, and the second mistake was to underestimateEurope. Today, we can certainly say that Western leaders are more determined than ever that Russia will get a hard rebuff.”Mykhailo Podoliak is confident that by giving heavy weapons to Ukraine, Western partners can stop being afraid of the “Russian military machinery.”
At the same time, Russian politicians went into anotherhysterics because of the Alliance’s decision. Thus, a member of the negotiating group of russia, an MP of the State Duma,leonid slutsky, said that the Alliance’s decision confirmed that opposition to russia is the NATO’s raison d’être. However, slutsky did not imagine that such a decision of the Alliance was a reaction to the war that russia unleashed against Ukraine and to russia’s aggressive policy towards the Alliance’ eastern member states, in general.
“Russia is expectedly called the biggest threat to the security of the North Atlantic bloc. The actual opposition to our country has been repeatedly and officially defined as the raison d'être of the Alliance and as a justification for the "open door policy”, which, in fact, led to today's situation,” –said slutsky.
Accession of Finland and Sweden to the Alliance has been haunting the Speaker of State Duma, who believes that it is not russia that should not be worried about getting more NATO member states on their borders, but NATO itself should rather be afraid because there is more of russia near their borders.
“Jens Stoltenberg reports that russia will get more NATO at its borders. He's excited too soon. He did not study geography at school. In the case of Finland and Sweden joining the bloc, there will be more russia near the NATO borders,” said the russian politician.
russia Shifts Responsibility for Rocket Attack on Shopping Mall in Kremenchuk
russia continues to use its strategy of shifting responsibility for its war crimes in Ukraine. This was the case with the shootings of civilians in Bucha and other cities of Kyiv region, with rocket attacks on the railway station in Kramatorsk, where residents were waiting for evacuation trains, with strikes on the maternity hospital and the drama theater in Mariupol, where civilians were sheltered, etc. The missile strike, committed on June, 27, by russian troops when they struck the Amstor shopping mall in the city of Kremenchuk, Poltava region, was no exception. As a result, at least 20 people died and about 60 others were injured.
After the world’s reaction to the cynical strike on the shopping center, the russian Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs invented a version that russiantroops allegedly bombed the hangar where American and European weapons were stored with ammunition that detonated and, accordingly, hit the shopping center, whichwas actually closed and did not operate.
“Yesterday, all the media in the West went viral with videos from Kremenchuk showing footage of a mall on fire, accusing the russian military of bombing civilian infrastructure. The Department of Defense made it clear what really happened: they bombed the hangar, where American and European weapons and ammunition arrived. As a result of the detonation of ammunition, a nearby mall, that was empty, caught the fire," said the head of the russian Foreign Ministry, sergey lavrov.
The spokeswoman for russia’s Foreign Ministry, maria zakharova, supported russian narratives and labelled the information about russian troops attacking the shopping mall in Kremenchuk as a fake.
The russian president putin expressed a cynical response to the blow on the shopping center. According to him, the russian army does not strike civilian objects, and their “high-precision weapons” reaches the planned targets, so any terrorist attack is out of question. “There is no terrorist attack there. I know that, and we have said it many times, we have shown it, you can see it from the drones when they place weapons, MLRS systems, artillery, and heavy equipment in general in residential areas, or else. We do not randomly shoot cross-country,” he said.
Instead, Ukraine provided evidence that it was russia that struck the shopping mall. On June, 28, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, speaking via videolink at a meeting of the UN Security Council, screened a video from surveillance cameras, which recorded the moment of the Russian X-22 missile strike on the shopping and entertainment center in the city of Kremenchuk. In his speech, the President of Ukraine called for the recognition of the russian federation as a state sponsor of terrorism.
“Monday, June 27, a rocket attack on Kremenchuk. The one who blew this strike could not be in the dark about targeting a rocket at a shopping mall, one of the many shopping malls available anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, as of this time, the United Nations do not have a legal definition of a “terrorist State” agreed by all Member States. But this war that russia is waging against Ukraine demonstrates not only the meaning of this concept but also the urgent need to consolidate it legally, at the level of the United Nations, and to punish any terrorist state," said Volodymyr Zelensky.
As a result, a number of UN Security Council countries condemned the russian strike on the mall in Kremenchuk. The joint statement of Albania, France, Ireland, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States, which was also supported by Ukraine, who is not a member of the UN Security Council, was published on the Facebook page of the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN, Serhii Kyslytsia.
“We condemn in the strongest terms the killing of civilians as a result of these missile strikes, in particular the attack that hit the crowded shopping center in Kremenchuk, Poltava region of Ukraine. This strike was a blatant attack on civilian infrastructure and civilian population,” the statement said.
russia keeps changing the goals of the invasion of Ukrainebut says that everything "goes as planned"
vladimir putin announced other new goals of the so-called “special military operation.” Thus, the russian dictator noted that the ultimate goal of russian aggression is the liberation of Donbas. As you know, the target of the russian invasion has changed several times. Denazification, demilitarization, the elimination of nationalists, the non-expansion of NATO to the east, the capture of Kyiv in 4 days and the change of power in Ukraine, the capture of the South of Ukraine and the entry to the borders of Transnistria – this is an incomplete list of russia's goals that have been officially announced by various officials of the russian federation.
“The ultimate goal I have outlined is the liberation of Donbas, the protection of these people and the creation of conditions that would guarantee the security of russia itself. That is all. And the work goes well and methodically. Well, as you can see, the troops are moving and reaching those milestones that have been set as a task at a certain stage of this combat effort. Everything goes according to plan,” putin said.
On July, 1, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, noted that the main goal of Ukraine in the war is the liberation of all territories within internationally recognized borders (borders of Ukraine as of 1991 – ed.). This goal has not changed, it is actively communicated by politicians and the Ukrainian military.
russia Negatively Capturs the Snake Island
On June, 30, the Ministry of Defense of the russian federation shared the message that, as an act of goodwill, russia was withdrawing its garrison that has completed its tasks, from the Ukrainian Snake Island, in the Black Sea.
However, this wording does not stand up to any criticismbecause during several days, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have launched a series of successful attacks on the military infrastructure of the island and destroyed the russian ship “Vitalii Bekh” that supplied ammunition, weapons, and personnel to the Snake Island. Therefore, the russian troops had no choice but to retreat from the island. However, moscow does not like to admit defeat, so the russian command keeps inventing the interpretations that are convenient for them and for their audiences. This was also the case with the retreat of russian troops from Kyiv, Chernihiv,and Sumy regions, which they also called an act of goodwill. We can also mention the destruction by the Ukrainian Armed Forces of the flagship of the Black Sea fleet, the “Moscow” cruiser. Back then, the russians said that the cruiser sank as a result of the storm, rather than because it was hit by Ukrainian missiles.
Ukrainians invented many memes and jokes on social media around this topic. Also, the retreat of russians was not ignored by Ukrainian politicians. According to Mykhailo Podoliak, in order for russians to show more acts of goodwill, their troops must suffer new defeats.
“Is everything really going according to plan? Again, as a gesture of ‘goodwill’, russian troops are fleeing from the Snake Island, as confirmed in the russian Defense Ministry. In other words, in order to ‘get Moscow attached” with good will, it is necessary to systematically hit them. So less talk, more weapons, and may peace without the Nazi letter Z comes sooner…”, said the politician.
More "goodies" for Russia: Default, Seventh Package of Sanctions and More Weapons for Ukraine
A default came to russia. As Economic Truth wrote, on May 27, 2022, the rf was due to pay almost $100 million on two issues of its Eurobonds denominated in dollars and euros. However, due to sanctions imposed on the country, no funds were received into the accounts of creditors.
According to the terms of the Eurobond issue, russia had 30 days of the so-called grace period, during which it could settle the payments. In the rf government, they said that they had transferred the funds but they were stuck in the Euroclear settlement system due to sanctions.
On June, 27, Moody's Rating Agency reported the default in russia. And although russia does not recognize default, the fact remains. The press secretary of the president, dmitry peskov, believes that the allegation of default is wrongbecause the payment was made in May.
Following on upon sanctions, we may add that the head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba,reported that the EU is preparing the 7th package of sanctions against russia.
“In our call today, Josep Borrel (Head of the EU Diplomacy – OPORA) and I discussed further steps after Ukrainebecame an EU candidate country and coordinated positions ahead of the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting. We both agree on the need for the seventh EU sanctions package on russia and we are working on it,” Kuleba wrote on Twitter.
On July, 1, the United States announced another package of assistance to Ukraine, in the amount of $820 million. It also included a modern antiaircraft defense system, such as NASAMS Sam, which Ukraine has been asking for a long time. In addition, the aid package will include additional ammunition for HIMARS, 155-millimeter artillery shells, and counter-battery radars.
Also, US President Joe Biden announced that 50 countries of the world have made a general commitment to transfer to Ukraine many times more weapons than Ukraine received earlier. “More than 50 countries have made new commitments, and this is a global effort to support Ukraine: almost 140,000 anti-tank systems, more than 600 tanks, almost 500 artillery systems, more than 600,000 artillery ammunition, as well as advanced multiple launch rocket systems, anti-ship and antiaircraft defense systems,” the American president said during a briefing in Madrid, during the NATO summit.