Ukraine and its Western allies await this Wednesday, March 30 with skepticism the “reduction of military activity” around kyiv and another major city announced by Moscow following peace talks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky saw “positive” signs in these negotiations which could pave the way for a meeting between Vladimir Putin and him.
Meanwhile, the situation is still alarming in Ukraine where 12 people were killed in Mykolaiv in Russian strikes, according to a latest report. Moreover, Russia is accused by the UN of causing a world food crisis by having decided to invade the country.
Russia accused of causing a ‘global food crisis’
Before the UN Security Council, Russia was accused on Tuesday of having provoked a “global food crisis” even to run the risk of “famine” by having started a war against Ukraine, the “breadbasket of Europe”. Russian President “Vladimir Putin started this war. He created this world food crisis. And he is the one who can stop it”, hammered the number two of American diplomacy Wendy Sherman during a meeting of the Security Council devoted to the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.
For the Deputy Secretary of State, “Russia and President Putin alone bear the responsibility for having waged war on Ukraine and for the consequences of this war on world food security”. French Ambassador to the UN Nicolas de Rivière drove the point home: “Russia’s aggression against Ukraine increases the risk of famine throughout the world. The populations of developing countries are the first to be affected .”
“Substantial” discussions paving the way for a Zelensky-Putin meeting
The conditions for a first meeting between the Ukrainian president and his Russian counterpart since the beginning of the Russian invasion are now possible, indicated kyiv and Moscow after several hours of Russian-Ukrainian talks on Tuesday March 29 in Istanbul.
“As the negotiations on an agreement on the neutrality and non-nuclear status of Ukraine entering a practical dimension (…), it was decided, in order to increase confidence, to drastically reduce military activity in the direction of Kyiv and Cherniguiv,” the Russian Deputy Defense Minister said. “After the substantial discussion today, we agreed and propose that the meeting be held to initial the agreement,” added the head of the Russian delegation and representative of the Kremlin, Vladimir Medinsky.
Ukraine will agree to be neutral if it obtains an “international agreement” to guarantee its security, of which several countries would be signatories acting as guarantors, detailed the Ukrainian chief negotiator in Istanbul, David Arakhamia.
Washington, Paris, London, Berlin and Rome circumspect
The American, French, British, German and Italian leaders showed themselves to be circumspect after the announcement of progress in the Russian-Ukrainian talks. Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron, Boris Johnson, Olaf Scholz and Mario Draghi warned in a telephone conversation against any “slackening of Western resolve until the horror inflicted on Ukraine is over”, according to Downing Street.
They also said they agreed to “continue to increase the cost paid by Russia”, according to the White House. Joe Biden said in particular that he was waiting to see if Russia “keeps its word” on reducing its military activity in the direction of kyiv and Cherniguiv.
At least twelve dead in a strike in Mykolaiv
Twelve people were killed and at least 33 others injured Tuesday in a Russian strike that partially destroyed the building of the regional administration of Mykolaiv, in southern Ukraine, according to a new report given by Ukrainian relief. Russian forces have also bombed the military airfield of Starokostiantyniv (west), destroying all fuel stocks in this city, announced its mayor.
Nearly four million refugees
The number of refugees who have fled Ukraine since the invasion ordered by Vladimir Putin is approaching the symbolic bar of four million which could be crossed in the next few days, according to the UN, estimating at almost 6.5 million the number internally displaced persons.
With 3,901,713 Ukrainian refugees, mostly women and children, Europe has not seen such large influxes of refugees since World War II.
A risk of arbitrary arrest for Americans in Russia
US citizens in Russia risk being arbitrarily arrested by authorities, the State Department warned on Tuesday, which renewed its call not to travel to the country or to leave it immediately. The State Department has warned of “the possibility of harassment of American citizens” by Russian security forces, “including arrest” and “arbitrary enforcement of local law”, because of the position from Washington regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions imposed on Moscow.
The warning was issued after American basketball star Brittney Griner has been detained in Russia for over a month. She was arrested on February 17 at an airport near Moscow with “vaporizers and a liquid with a particular smell” of cannabis oil, according to Russian customs.