Chris Lange, FISM News
Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday pushed for a positive decision on Ukraine’s NATO bid at July’s summit of the international military alliance. The Ukrainian president told assembled diplomats at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit that “security guarantees” are needed to ensure stability, not just for Ukraine, but “in Europe and in the world in general.”
“Uncertainty is the main source for destabilization. When uncertainty exists, the enemies of democracy think that it can be used to seize something for themselves,” Zelenskyy said in a live video address as reported by Reuters. “It is time to remove the biggest security uncertainty in Europe — that is, to approve a positive political decision on our NATO membership in NATO.”
Zelenskyy said that his country’s acceptance into the alliance will serve as a “timely signal” to the world that attempts to seize sovereign lands with impunity will never be tolerated.
“The signal [is] that there is not even the slightest possibility that democracy will lose or surrender its values in this war,” he said. “Democracy can and must prove that it is more powerful, fast, and far-reaching than anyone who opposes it.”
ZELENSKYY SECURES MAJOR NEW PLEDGES FROM EUROPEAN COUNTRIES
President Zelenskyy’s Copenhagen address followed back-to-back unannounced visits to Rome, Berlin, and Paris that were met with pledges of more weapons, tanks, and armored vehicles.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday welcomed Zelenskyy to his Chequers country residence with a promise of long-range attack drones on the heels of last week’s announcement from the U.K. that it would provide Kyiv’s forces hundreds of air defense missiles.
WATCH: UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak meets President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at Chequers, a surprise stop on the Ukranian leader's European tour https://t.co/KWWIu8oI4d pic.twitter.com/QVcrej9ZjT
— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) May 15, 2023
“This is a crucial moment in Ukraine‘s resistance to a terrible war,” Sunak said in a statement. “They need the sustained support of the international community to defend against the barrage of unrelenting and indiscriminate attacks that have been their daily reality for over a year.”
The defensive package also includes basic training of Ukrainian pilots this summer to go “hand in hand with UK efforts to work with other countries on providing F16 jets – Ukraine’s fighter jets of choice.”
Kyiv troops, who have been on the defensive for six months, are expected to launch major assaults to reclaim territories occupied by Russian forces. Reuters noted that Ukraine has already seen its largest gains in 10 months of fighting around Bakhmut within the past week with the arrival of Western-supplied military aid.
NO NEW TALKS ON BLACK SEA GRAIN DEAL
The U.N.-brokered Black Sea grain export deal between Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey is set to expire on Thursday with no additional talks planned.
The wartime pact has allowed for the safe passage of cargo vessels carrying millions of tons of Ukrainian and Russian food products for delivery to developing countries dependent upon them as a primary food source.
Olha Trofimtseva, a foreign ministry ambassador at large, told a briefing that talks in Turkey last week to extend the deal yielded little in the way of progress.
“The situation overall (after talks) has not changed much, and we receive quite conflicting information about the grain deal and the possibility of its continuation,” she said.
Moscow has repeatedly threatened to pull out of the agreement, alleging that it has only served to hinder Russia’s own grain and fertilizer exports.
“Such a termination, (Russia’s) exit from the grain initiative is possible, but for everyone and primarily for the Russian side that will mean an escalation of the situation and they will complicate their future negotiation position for themselves,” Trofimtseva warned.
The Black Sea pact was entered in July 2022 amid urgent warnings from the U.N. of an impending global famine.
FOUR KILLED IN RUSSIAN MISSILE ATTACK THAT STRUCK HOSPITAL
Four people were killed in a Russian missile attack on Monday that struck a hospital in the eastern city of Avdiivka, according to regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko.
“The Russians attacked the city with rockets this morning, hitting the hospital,” he wrote on Twitter along with a plea for citizens to evacuate.
“Every new day spent in Donetsk increases the risk of becoming a victim of Russian aggression! Evacuate!” he wrote. The post included images of a heavily damaged building with a gaping hole with rubble filling the ground below.
“Every new day spent in the Donetsk region increases the risk of becoming a victim of Russian aggression,” he said.
The small city in the eastern industrial Donbas region has been a major target in Moscow’s winter offensive. Russian forces have made only incremental gains in its offensive in eastern Ukraine since the February 2022 invasion.