Six Months of the Special Military Operation in Ukraine: Its Results and Perspectives. Russia-Bangladesh Relations in the Context of Economic Crisis. PART 1

Our country is once again experiencing a turning point in its history. Russia has entered an acute phase of confrontation with an aggressive alliance of unfriendly states led by the United States. The enemy's goal is to inflict a strategic defeat on our country, eliminating it as a geopolitical competitor. We have to deal with a Russophobic collective West. It has advanced military-technical potential and controls a significant part of global markets, financial resources, logistics chains and information flows. For decades, the NATO bloc has been developing territories adjacent to vital areas of Central Russia in the Baltic States and Ukraine. The latter has been turned into a spear aimed at the very heart of Russia. Conflict in Ukraine became the West’s frontline of war against our country.

We have tried to convince Washington and its allies for years that Ukraine should not be dragged into NATO. Last December we proposed signing a treaty on security guarantees. We have been urging our Western colleagues to make Ukraine fulfill implementation of the UN Security Council resolution which endorsed the Minsk agreements, agreements signed by France and Germany, too.

But the West, as Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stated, does not want to do business with anyone on an equal basis in any way. USA and Europe want to communicate only with those who will be absolutely obedient to them. That's why the West doesn't talk about international law - they invented a new term there: "rules based order". It is this narrative which is constantly being talked about, it is this wording which is being tried to introduce into any international discussions and documents, openly implying that it is the Westerners who determine which rules should be applied in this or that case.

Now the West, in a Russophobic "zeal", demands that Ukraine should not stop military operations, should not start negotiations until its victory and from Russia - to reach an agreement which guarantees sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. The West is very late. The Minsk agreements were just such an agreement that guaranteed the territorial integrity of Ukraine while granting a special status to Donbass.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation on February 24 in response to a request for help by the heads of the Donbass republics, which have been shelling for the last 8 years by the Ukrainian military units and neo-Nazi military formations. Another punitive operation in Donbass, an invasion of our historic lands, including Crimea, were openly in the making with the assistance from NATO. Kiev even declared that it could attain nuclear weapons.

Russia launched a pre-emptive strike at the aggression. It was a forced, timely and the only correct decision. A decision by a sovereign, strong and independent country.

Today the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation in Ukraine advancing on most sectors of the front and inflicting artillery, missile and air strikes with precision weapons against military facilities, positions of Ukrainian military formations and nationalist battalions. At the same time Russian military command and troops on the ground make every effort to minimize civilian casualties and avoid collateral damage.

In particular as of August 23 Russian units together with militia from Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics destroyed in total 416 Ukrainian airplanes and helicopters, 1,8 thousand unmanned aerial vehicles, 370 anti-aircraft missile systems, 4,3 thousand tanks and other armored combat vehicles. Russian troops carry forward advance along the whole front line. Despite the Western countries’ support for the Kiev regime, we are consistently pursuing goals and objectives of the Special Military Operation, which are to protect civilians in the DPR and LPR, to demilitarise and denazify Ukraine, and to eliminate threats to Russia’s security.

When the special military operation started, we saw how deeply the Kiev regime interacted with NATO: cutting-edge weaponry and military infrastructure were delivered and constructed in large quantities and amounts, training activities gained momentum, many mercenaries served in nationalist battalions. Suffice to mention about the military and biological activities of the US and its allies in Ukraine. The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation possesses evidence that research had been carried out in Ukraine for several years on behalf of the so-called Big Pharma.

    As far as mercenaries are concerned, over almost four weeks (from July 8 to August 5) their number in Ukraine decreased from 2,741 to 2,192 as a result of the offensive actions of the Russian Armed Forces and the units of the people's militias of Donetsk and Lugansk. Poland still leads in the rate of reduction of mercenaries in Ukraine.

Peaceful life is resuming on liberated territories of Donbass, Zaporozhye, Kharkov and Kherson regions. Over 50,000 explosive ordnances were detected and cleared. Over 200,000 square meters of destroyed buildings cleared. Russia has delivered over 56,000 tonnes supplied since March 2022. More than 300,000 retirees in DPR, LPR and Ukraine’s liberated regions received social benefits. Over 30,000 people in Zaporozhye region apply for Russian passports. More than 2 thousand schools in liberated territories are getting ready to open their doors for children.

As of August 23, despite all the difficulties and obstacles imposed by the Ukrainian side, without the participation of Kiev, in total, since the beginning of the special military operation, more than 3,6 million people have already been evacuated to Russia, of which around 576 thousand are children. All of them are provided with food and shelter. Medical assistance is provided to those in need.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian troops and neo-Nazi groups, including foreign mercenaries, continue using unacceptable combat methods by setting up firing positions, barracks and ammunition depots in residential areas, at schools and hospitals, using prohibited by International Humanitarian Law remotely-delivered landmines against Donbass and Russian cities. Along with so called “Lepestok” (Patel) anti-personal mines that were remotely planted using MLRS systems. Anti-personnel mines "Petal" injured more than 45 people, including children, in Donetsk and several residents of the Belgorod region. Ukrainian military formations in violation of the Kiev-ratified Ottawa Convention use anti-tank French mines. It is impossible to remove or defuse these mines once they are armed. Their use is a flagrant violation of Protocol II on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps and Other Devices.

Against the backdrop of military defeats in Donbass and elsewhere, the Zelenskyi regime sanctioned terrorist acts involving the use of chemical poisoning substances against Russian servicemen and civilians. On July 31 Russian servicemen carrying out tasks near Vasil'evka, Zaporizhzhya Region, were taken to a military hospital with signs of severe poisoning. As a result of examination, toxic substance, botulinum toxin type B, was found in servicemen' organisms.

The Ukrainian units have shelled the territory of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant several times, which constitutes an act of nuclear terrorism. At the beginning, the Ukrainians attacked the station with drones, then they began firing multiple rocket launchers and heavy 155-mm guns supplied by the United States.

We have repeatedly cited this fact, including within the walls of the UN Security Council. These actions by the Kiev regime can lead to a disaster far worse than the one that took place at the Chernobyl station. In this context, we find it truly strange to hear accusations that Moscow is jeopardizing the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant. This contradicts the facts and allows Kiev to undermine the International Atomic Energy Agency’s efforts to inspect the facility.

We expect that in the very near future there will be a trip to the Zaporozhye NPP by IAEA experts, which was fully agreed in June this year and disrupted by the leadership of the UN Secretariat.

Experts should verify on the spot the criminal behavior of the Kiev regime. Kiev has demonstrated many times its ability to arrange provocations and the inability to control nationalist formations. For this reason, proposals for a demilitarized zone around the Zaporozhye NPP are unacceptable. Their implementation will make the station even more vulnerable.

It is no exaggeration to say that the special military operation has become a milestone on the way to a new world order – the transition from liberal-globalist American egocentrism to a truly multipolar world based on the true sovereignty of peoples and civilizations. The new alignment of forces in the international arena will largely depend on the course of a special military operation, changes in the structure of the world economy and the parameters of a political settlement of the situation in Ukraine.

Regardless of the duration of the military operation, it can already be stated that the 30-year era of generally constructive, although not problematic, cooperation with the West is irrevocably over. There will be no return to the situation before February 24 in relations with the countries of North America and Europe, which have been operating against Russia in the "friendly takeover" paradigm since 1992. However, this does not mean that the current quarrel over Ukraine puts an end to the era of Russia's rapprochement with Europe. Constructive cooperation with all neighbors, including in the Euro-Atlantic region, meets the interests of the Russian side.

Moscow and its allies, partners and associates will keep on refining the existing mechanisms of international security and creating new ones. Russia will also continue to ensure its national interests as well as the protection of its allies, and take other steps to build a more democratic world. It is necessary to restore respect to international law, and to its fundamental norms and principles. It is important to bolster the positions of the UN and other international dialogue venues. The UN Security Council and the General Assembly, as it was initially conceived, should serve as effective instruments to decrease international tension and prevent conflicts, while working to guarantee reliable security and the well-being of all countries and peoples.