Further arming Ukraine will only destroy it The west must act to end this war now Angus Roxburgh

Russian forces may try to push again along the entire front, at least to secure all of the Donbas region. Ukraine will probably try to exploit the success it has had in re-establishing its control over the western Black Sea and its vital trade corridor to the Bosphorus. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 saw the return of major war to the European continent. The course of the conflict in 2023 marked the fact that industrial-age warfare had returned too. The EU's decision to open membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova is more than just symbolic. https://euronewstop.co.uk/what-did-ukraine-look-like-before-the-war.html means continued backing for Kyiv, as a future in the EU for Ukraine would be impossible with a full-blown victory for Russia.

• By early December, details of Russia's plans for a 175,000-strong invasion had appeared in the Washington Post.
• But it is not beyond the realms of plausibility that such a scenario could emerge from the wreckage of a bloody conflict.
• With each setback, Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, has sought new ways to torment Ukraine.
• By early summer Ukraine will be able to use US-made F16 fighter jets for the first time, which it hopes will improve its ability to counter Russian aircraft and strengthen its own air defences.

The US defence aid package is held hostage by what President Biden rightly labelled "petty politics" in Washington. And the future of the EU's economic aid is seemingly dependent on Hungary's incongruous stance. Russia invaded Ukraine early on February 24, 2022, with Putin describing the invasion as a "special military operation". On March 16, 2022, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that “neutral status is now being seriously discussed” and that “the sides are close to agreeing” on the specific terms of the agreement. One factor hindering negotiations could be Ukraine's desire for close ties with, and possible membership of Nato, something Russia see as totally unacceptable.

And we can already see how the prospect of eventual negotiations is influencing strategy. Western leaders cannot bring themselves to broach these matters, which would seem to reward Putin for attempting to redraw the map by force. They would rather fight – or more accurately, let Ukraine fight, in the hope of defeating Russia.

The news from the battlefield, the diplomatic noises off, the emotion of the grieving and displaced; all of this can be overwhelming. So let us step back for a moment and consider how the conflict in Ukraine might play out. What are some of the possible scenarios that politicians and military planners are examining? Few can predict the future with confidence, but here are some potential outcomes. Britain is pouring arms into Ukraine and is training Ukrainian troops. Johnson has twice flown to Kyiv to pour cold water on any prospect of peace negotiations.

• Of course, the United States and the rest of the world would go absolutely bananas.
• In September Anders Fogh Rasmussen, a former secretary-general of NATO, and Andriy Yermak, Mr Zelensky’s chief of staff, proposed a “Kyiv Security Compact” which would offer security assistance short of a mutual-defence pact.
• Even where there is no support for the invasion, there is no willingness to condemn it, still less to line up with hypocritical and disastrous western sanctions.
• Should Ukraine and its allies simply carry on, hoping for a breakthrough in 2025 or beyond?

But it is not beyond the realms of plausibility that such a scenario could emerge from the wreckage of a bloody conflict. A second way for Ukraine to win — at least theoretically — would be through a diplomatic agreement. Any settlement based on that plan would, of course, be wonderful. The differences should be negotiated peacefully, respecting Ukrainian rights and Russian security concerns. Our focus is, however, on the British government – how it has contributed to the present situation through its post-Cold War policy of backing NATO expansion and moving its own troops eastwards, and how its bellicose rhetoric and arms sales are aggravating it now. Our contribution to peace must lie in forcing our own government to assist de-escalation of the crisis.

Ukraine: Inside the spies’ attempts to stop the war

Many Russian nationalists, though, perceive Ukraine as a breakaway region of greater Russia. During President Putin's marathon state address on Feb. 21, he accused Western countries of attempting "to deprive Russia of these historical territories that are now called Ukraine," making war the only way to "protect the people in our historical lands." "We want peace around the world," 70-year-old Kyiv resident Nina Albul recently told my colleague Hanna Palamarenko, "but we also want the world to know that it's okay for enslaved people to fight back." The invasion has been a disaster for President Vladimir Putin and in order to justify it at home he at least has to take control of Ukraine's Donbas region, after which he can falsely claim that the army saved Russian citizens persecuted by Ukraine. The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution on Wednesday demanding that Russia immediately end its military operations in Ukraine. The UN has, however, taken steps against certain countries to end major injustices.

France has recently sacked its head of military intelligence for failing to appreciate what was being planned. The current war in Ukraine, following the Russian invasion, has sparked all sorts of questions about the United Nations, particularly the role of the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Secretary-General. Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said this is a “war of choice”, by President Putin. Ambassador Michel Xavier Biang of Gabon, which had also abstained on the new resolution, said the UN Charter forms the foundation for all nations’ existence. Recalling divergent views shared in the Council over the past year, he called for unity “to silence the guns in Ukraine”. In this vein, he called for creating a special tribunal with jurisdiction over the crime of aggression against Ukraine and the ability to deal with the personal immunities of principal perpetrators.