Sticking in Putin's craw is the fact that $50 billion dollars are winging its way out of the coffers of Putin's Russia as payment for his war against Ukraine.
"Ukraine’s supporters have agreed to move forward with a $50 billion loan to Kyiv, financed by profits from frozen Russian assets in Europe and the U.S., the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) countries announced Thursday.
The agreement marks a significant achievement for President Biden, with the U.S. spearheading the effort to get the broad grouping of Ukraine’s supporters to agree on seizing Russian assets to support Kyiv and counter Russian President Vladimir Putin." (The Hill on Yahoo News : 13 June 2024) (my emphasis)
Global News : 13 June 2024 : Youtube
"The European Union has signed agreements worth €1.4 billion with banks in a bid to attract private sector investment in Ukraine, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at the opening of a two-day conference in Berlin on international support for the country's reconstruction.
...
The agreements are meant to improve access to finance for Ukrainian businesses, von der Leyen said, mentioning startups in the IT, digitalization, critical raw materials and renewables sectors." (Politico : 11 June 2024) (my emphasis)
And Switzerland,
" .... will provide additional grant funds in the amount of 10 million Swiss francs for the restoration of Ukraine's railway infrastructure.
This was reported by the Ukrzaliznytsia national rail carrier, Ukrinform learned.
The draft of the corresponding addition to the Grant Agreement between the governments of Ukraine and the Swiss Confederation, signed in 2022, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on June 7, 2024." (Ukrinform : 14 June 2024) (my emphasis)
Meanwhile, on the military front, both the US and Japan have entered into Security Agreements with Ukraine.
As ABC News reports on June 13, (cf. video below) US President Joe Biden confirms 10 year Security Agreement with Ukraine President Volodomyr Zelensky.
ABC News : 13 June 2024 : YouTube
" ... The purpose of this Accord is to clarify the areas of support and cooperation as well as commitments and arrangements, including security and defense, humanitarian support and recovery and reconstruction for the realization of strategic objectives of a free, independent, democratic and sovereign Ukraine, within its borders, which have been internationally recognized since 1991, including the territorial sea, in accordance with respective constitutional and legal requirements and regulations." (Ukrinform : 14 June 2024 ) (my emphasis)
"Russian prisons and penal colonies are being closed down with close to 100 jails scrapped already because so many prisoners have died fighting in Ukraine.
As many as 150,000 Russian prisoners, including murderers, rapists, robbers and gangsters were press-ganged and recruited into the military to go to the frontline. And if they were not killed in Russia ’s waves of cannon fodder in battles such as the fight for Bakhmut they were sent home, paid and set free.
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To reduce the costs of putting prisoners behind bars another three more colonies will shortly be closed in Siberia, with more set to be closed in the next year. Before the invasion of Ukraine the number of Russian prisoners was around 420,000 and now it is believed to have reduced to around 336,000." (Daily Mirror : 13 June 2024) (my emphasis)
In my last blog entry (9 June 2024) I speculated that,
"Is Putin readying himself to leave Russia with the legacy of attacking the US and NATO?"
This may not be idle speculation.
As reported by Reuters,
"Russian drills to deploy tactical nuclear weapons for combat involved the special delivery of dummy nuclear warheads to forward storage points and an airfield where they were loaded on to bombers, according to Russia's elite nuclear unit.
President Vladimir Putin ordered the nuclear drills after what Russia said were threats from the West, including signals from Western officials that they would allow Ukraine to strike deep into Russia with Western weapons.
...
By doing so, Russia is trying to send a signal to the United States and its biggest European allies that allowing Ukraine to strike Russia with ever bigger and more advanced Western weapons is an escalation that could have consequences." (Reuters : 13 June 2024) (my emphasis)
As Will Stewart (left) also reports,
"Vladimir Putin's forces are yet again drilling strikes with tactical nuclear weapons on Ukraine or the West with land, air and sea-based launches this week.
The Russian defence ministry stressed the launches were simulated, but everything else was performed by troops as it would be in a genuine attack.
A naval crew were seen pressing the button on a nuclear hit from a warship believed to be in the Baltic Sea to hit a target some 220 miles away, while Tu-22M3 nuclear capable bombers were pictured taking off from an undisclosed airstrip." (Mail Online : 13 June 2024) (my emphasis)
Mail Online : 13 June 2024
"NATO countries are set to sign off on a new plan for the alliance to take over from the U.S. in coordinating military aid to Ukraine.
The shift is broadly perceived as a move by European allies to "Trump-proof" the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, given the possibility that former U.S. President Donald Trump could return to the White House in November elections. Trump is seen as likely to roll back U.S. commitments to Kyiv." (Politico : 13 June 2024) (my emphasis),
Desperately chewing his nails, Putin waits in anticipation on the outcome of the US Presidential election in November of this year, wishing fervently that Trump, once again, enters the White House.
UPDATE: 15 June 2024 : 06.25 am
"Vladimir Putin has said Ukraine would need to withdraw troops from territories Russia claims to have annexed before a ceasefire could begin - a proposal Ukraine's president called a Hitler-like "ultimatum". (BBC News : 14 June 2024) (my emphasis)
Contrast this with the fact, as reported by Angela Skujins with AP , that,
...
Ukrainian government advisor Mykhailo Podolyak (right) slammed the proposal on social media, saying "there is no new 'peace proposal' from Russia" while describing the demands as a "complete sham".
"Its content is ... highly offensive to international law and speaks absolutely eloquently about the incapacity of the current Russian leadership to adequately assess realities," he said in a post in X.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (left) also rejected Putin's offer during a press conference in Brussels, labelling the pitch as not being made in "good faith." "It's not for Ukraine to withdraw forces from Ukrainian territory," he said on Friday. "It's for Russia to withdraw their forces from occupied Ukrainian land." (Euro News: 14 June 2024) (my emphasis)As Mykhailo Podolyak rightly comments, ""there is no new 'peace proposal' from Russia" while describing the demands as a "complete sham".
UPDATE : 16 June 2024
The Peace Summit in Switzerland just gave Putin the biggest international 'slap in the face' that he has ever encountered.
As reported by Sarah Rainsford and Dearbail Jordan,
"The leaders of Italy and Germany have strongly rejected ceasefire terms laid out by Vladimir Putin to stop the war in Ukraine, as scores of countries gathered at a two-day summit in Switzerland to discuss ending the conflict.
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the Russian president's plan "propaganda" which effectively suggested that Ukraine "must withdraw from Ukraine".
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz dismissed it as a "dictatorial peace".
A draft declaration issued at the summit reaffirms Ukraine's territorial integrity and unambiguously rejects any nuclear threat against the country." (BBC News : 16 June 2024) (my emphasis)
We now wait to see what Putin's 'red-faced' response will be.
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