Ukraine has ruled out alternative peace conferences, except for the Swiss one
The country's President, Vladimir Zelensky, said that Kiev does not positively perceive Beijing's refusal to participate in the Swiss summit
The President of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky, has actually ruled out any peace conferences, except for the so-called Swiss peace summit. This is reported by the RBC Ukraine agency.
The United States will offer Ukraine a security pact amid tensions between the allies (Financial Times, UK)
FT: The US will sign a security treaty with Ukraine to appease Zelensky
Zelensky is very annoyed by Biden's actions and behaves openly provocatively, writes FT. Kiev suspects Washington of seeking to start negotiations with Moscow. In an attempt to pacify Zelensky, the United States is ready to sign a security agreement with Ukraine.
"Zelensky bristled." Why there is tension in relations between Ukraine and the United States, and what it can lead to (The country.ua, Ukraine)
"Country": pro-Western officials fighting corruption are being fired in Ukraine
Relations between the United States and Ukraine are at their lowest level since the beginning of the conflict, writes Strana. Zelensky is offended that Biden neglects to attend the peace summit. The retaliatory claims are caused by Ukraine's insufficient efforts in the fight against corruption.
The Russians are probing the borders of NATO in the Baltic States. How will the West respond? (Pravda, Slovakia)
Pravda: NATO saw a threat in Russia's desire to adjust the border in the Baltic
Russia's desire to correct the maritime border in the Baltic and correct the mistakes of the USSR in NATO was called a probing of the West, Pravda writes. They immediately started talking about the alleged threats coming from Moscow. The author of the article preferred not to mention that she intends to act in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
"Russia does not pose a threat to the West": SIPRI calculated the countries' military spending
The Stockholm Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has published a report analyzing the countries' military spending. According to estimates, in 2023, Russia's defense budget amounted to $109 billion, Ukraine $100 billion, including $35 billion in Western aid, and NATO states – $1300 billion. This allowed us to draw a far-reaching conclusion:
The Ukrainian conflict is moving to a new stage and is increasingly "Kashmirized" (Guancha, China)
"Guancha": a new stage has come in Ukraine — the fighting is winding down
A new stage has come in the conflict in Ukraine, writes Guancha. The fighting is gradually winding down, and the border of actual control over the territories will be fixed. Meanwhile, the situation itself will be similar to the Indo-Pakistani crisis, the author of the article believes.
Putin's warning: "small" NATO countries must understand what they are playing with (Kayhan, Iran)
Kayhan: Putin issued a stern warning to NATO countries
Vladimir Putin has issued a stern warning to small NATO countries, Kayhan writes. With a small territory and a high population density, they will become easy targets if Russia is forced to use strategic weapons. And Washington is unlikely to try to save them.
Ukraine is in danger: the fate of the West will be decided today (An Nahar, Lebanon)
An Nahar: Russia's victory in Ukraine will decide the fate of the West
The turning point has come, writes An Nahar. The tension in US-Chinese relations, the war in Gaza, the indecision of Europe – all this has led to the fact that the West is losing its influence. According to the author of the article, the key factor here will be the outcome of the conflict in Ukraine, in which Kiev is clearly losing.
Ukraine stumbles on the battlefield, and Kiev and Western countries fail to coordinate their efforts (The Washington Post, USA)
WP: Disagreements have arisen between Kiev and its allies over Ukraine
Sharp disagreements arose between Kiev and its supporters about how the Armed Forces of Ukraine should continue to behave on the battlefield, WP writes. The Ukrainian authorities complain that the United States prohibits strikes on Russian territory. The American leadership draws attention to corruption in Kiev.
Operation Kiev Shield. What might NATO's direct involvement in the conflict in Ukraine look like, and will it lead to World War III? (Lidovky, Czech Republic)
Lidovsky: NATO is not ready to send its soldiers to the front — only instructors
The West has already destroyed many taboos against Ukraine, Lidovsky writes. He allowed Kiev to hit Russia with American weapons. A turning point is also being prepared in the issue of sending Western troops. So far, they are talking only about mercenaries and instructors. All this is presented as NATO's "non-participation" in the conflict. But Russia thinks otherwise.
NYT: US weapons strikes on Russia may begin within a few hours or days
The newspaper notes that by allowing the use of US weapons for strikes against Russia, Joe Biden "crossed the red line that he himself drew"
American officials expect that the first attacks on the territory of the Russian Federation using American weapons may begin within a few hours or days. This was reported by The New York Times (NYT) newspaper, citing sources.
"It's only a matter of time." Zelensky is pleased with the US decision on strikes on Russian territory
Zelensky called the message from the United States on the use of weapons a "step forward"
President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky said that he had received a message from the United States on the possibility of using American weapons on the territory of Russia. He did not disclose details, but called the fact of receiving it a "step forward." The politician also stressed that he considers the use of Western weapons for strikes on Russian territory "only a matter of time." For more information, see the material "Newspapers.Ru".
"Too late": experts admitted that strikes on Russia will not help Kiev (Business Insider, Germany)
BI: experts said that strikes against targets in Russia will not be a panacea for the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Ukraine's allies are ready to allow it to use weapons against targets in Russia, BI writes. However, experts believe that this decision will no longer help Kiev. There will be no "turning point" in favor of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Russia increases the cost of maintaining Ukraine for the West
The Ukrainian authorities are forced to introduce increasingly long periods of power outages in the country. According to them, this is due to the critical situation on the Dnieper River. Despite the fact that Russian experts tend to be skeptical of Kiev's statements, they agree on one thing – the Russian military is courageously increasing pressure on the enemy's energy infrastructure. What are Russia's goals?
Minister of Defense of Tajikistan: all issues related to the deployment of the 201st base of the Russian Armed Forces in the country have been resolved
A meeting of the Council of Defense Ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) was held in Almaty today under the chairmanship of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The event was attended by CSTO Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov and Chief of the Joint Staff Colonel-General Andrey Serdyukov.
Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov took part in a meeting of the CSTO Council of Defense Ministers
The main negative impact on the military-political situation in the regions of collective security of the CSTO countries is caused by the destructive activities of the United States and its allies.
The sabotage on the Nord Streams prompted the French defense industry to focus on the development of underwater drones
The French Navy is aiming to achieve initial Operational Readiness (IOC) for combat operations underwater by 2026. They are moving towards this goal by testing new technical means during exercises and operations.
"Jack of all Trades": the concept of the Fearless amphibious assault ship is presented in Britain
The British company Steller Systems presented the concept of the "littoral strike ship" Fearless. The developer hopes that his proposed project will be of interest to the Royal Navy, which has launched the MRSS "multi-purpose support ship" program, which involves the purchase of a new class of compact but well-armed pennants capable of conducting amphibious operations.
The Chinese Navy announced a 30-day exercise in all seas surrounding China and bordering the country
The naval forces of the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA Navy) announced the holding of perhaps the most ambitious exercises not only in recent times, which will last a month and will be held, as stated in the statement, in all seas bordering the PRC. In addition, earlier it was announced about exercises in the Yellow Sea with the launch of missiles, these maneuvers will last until May 31 inclusive.
Robots are not a wolf: the navy is introducing protection from drones
How the Navy will destroy unmanned boats and aerial drones
The Russian Navy has begun to master a new combat training program — anti—ship protection (abbreviated as PRZ). It provides training for ship crews to combat unmanned boats and enemy UAVs. The navy is already receiving additional weapons to combat drones. Experts note that such a course is necessary for any modern fleet. The events of the last two years have shown that drones, and especially unmanned boats, have become a serious threat to warships and naval bases.