The war in Ukraine appears to have entered a new phase, with relations between the West and Russia deteriorating further. The West, with the United States leading the way, is increasing arms supplies to Ukraine and Russia is responding, among other things, by turning off the gas tap to Poland and Bulgaria.
Earlier this week, the (heavier) weapons that Ukraine will receive provoked a fierce reaction from Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov. Deliveries of Western weapons to Ukraine, he says, mean that NATO is in fact at war with Russia. Lavrov does not even rule out a third world war, although Russia would find such a war intolerable according to him.
In addition, the Russians will turn off the gas tap towards Poland and Bulgaria from today. This probably has to do with the discussion about how the gas deliveries should be paid. The government in Moscow wants payment in rubles, but the EU finds this unacceptable. It is no coincidence that Russia is targeting Warsaw and Sofia. The Polish government in particular is regarded as one of the biggest critics of the war and has repeatedly called on European allies, including the Netherlands, to stop using Russian energy.
Caring for Moldova
There are also growing concerns from NATO that the conflict is spreading to other countries. The Western military alliance is particularly concerned about the position of Moldova, the country sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine. NATO fears a hostile attack on part of Moldova staged by Russia with the intention of retaliating. In recent days, there have been a number of explosions in Transnistria, a renegade Russian pro-Russian region of Moldova where Russian troops are stationed.
“We have previously seen attempts by Russia to mount false flag attacks in neighboring Ukraine, so we will closely monitor events in Moldova,” said a NATO official. The military alliance is concerned about the explosions at a government building and a transmission tower in Transnistria. All the more so because “the Kremlin has said its targets are not limited to Ukraine,” the official said. “Any threat by Russia to Moldova, an independent country, is unacceptable.”
Observers are taking into account that Russia might want to open a new western front against Ukraine from Transnistria or overrun Moldova. The country could use a staged attack on Transnistria as an excuse for this.
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky is not surprised. “Russia is doing everything it can to destabilize the situation in that region. Russia is trying to show Moldova what will happen if that country stands behind Ukraine.” According to Zelensky, Ukrainian armed forces are prepared for a possible attack by Russian troops from the Transnistria region.
‘Kherson liberated’
Meanwhile, fighting in eastern and southern Ukraine continues. Russia’s defense ministry announced via state news agency Interfax last night that its troops have “liberated” the entire Kherson region of southern Ukraine. According to the spokesman, General Mikhail Mizintsev, parts of the Zaporizhia and Mikolayiv districts have also been placed under Russian control, as well as areas near the eastern city of Kharkov. According to Mizintsev, normal life in the conquered areas is slowly but surely returning. “The social infrastructure is being restored and the sowing of agricultural land for the harvest has begun.”
The Kremlin may say that Kherson has been taken, but other voices are coming from Kiev. The regional commander of the Ukrainian military in the south insisted on Tuesday that a defense line has been erected in Kherson that the Russians have not yet broken through.
Monument knocked down
A Soviet-era monument symbolizing friendship between Russia and Ukraine was dismantled in Kiev on Tuesday. The tearing down of the statue was in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Mayor Vitali Klitschko made clear.
The statue, a Ukrainian and Russian worker on a pedestal, was located under the Ark of Friendship, erected in 1982 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Soviet Union. A crowd had gathered there, applauding and chanting pro-Ukrainian slogans as the statue began to fall. “This monument symbolized friendship between Ukrainian and Russian nations,” Klitschko said after the statue fell. “We now see what this friendship is: destruction of Ukraine.”
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