Russo-Ukraine War - May 2024

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On 24 February 2022, Ukraine was suddenly and deliberately attacked by land, naval and air forces of Russia, igniting the largest European war since the Great Patriotic War. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" (SVO - spetsialnaya voennaya operatsiya) in Ukraine. The military buildup in preceeding months makes it obvious that the unprovoked and dastardly Russian attack was deliberately planned long in advance. During the intervening time, the Russian government had deliberately sought to deceive the world by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

"To initiate a war of aggression... is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole." [Judgment of the International Military Tribunal]

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Russia sends soldiers into meat assaults, but does not take back corpses.

On 01 May 2024 the US Department of State delivered to Congress a determination pursuant to the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (CBW Act) regarding Russia’s use of the chemical weapon chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops. Pursuant to the CBW Act, the Department is re-imposing restrictions on foreign military financing, U.S. Government lines of credit, and export licenses for defense articles and national security-sensitive items going to Russia. The Department also is sanctioning three Russian government entities associated with Russia’s chemical and biological weapons programs and four Russian companies that have contributed to such entities. Ukraine is facing a new stage of war with the Russian Federation. The enemy plans to expand offensive operations. This was announced by President Volodymyr Zelenskyi during appeal to the border guards on the occasion of the Day of the State Border Service of Ukraine. "Today is the 800th day of the war. This is an extremely difficult and tough path that our state had to go through, and the path that still needs to be taken in order to end the war on fair terms, on the terms of Ukraine. Now we are facing a new stage of the war. The occupier is preparing to try to expand the offensive", - the president said. As Zelensky noted, today all Ukrainians, as well as Ukraine's allies, must do everything possible to thwart Russia's plans. It is important to prove that the enemy will not be able to achieve his goals under any circumstances and no matter how vile he acts.

Great Britain does not object if Ukraine uses British weapons on the territory of Russia. This was stated 03 May 2024 by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, during his visit to Kyiv. According to him, Ukraine has the right to use weapons provided by London to strike targets inside the Russian Federation. The decision remains with Ukraine. "Ukraine has the right to this. In the same way as Russia strikes inside Ukraine," — he said. For years, major Western arms donors were reportedly conditioning their aid on Kiev’s pledge not to use the weapons outside of the territory that it claims. US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink said American policy remained unchanged following Cameron’s remark.

Moscow will retaliate against British targets in Ukraine or elsewhere if Kiev uses UK-provided missiles to strike Russian territory, the Foreign Ministry told London’s ambassador on 06 May 2024. Ambassador Nigel Casey was summoned to the ministry following remarks by British Foreign Secretary David Cameron to Reuters that Ukraine has the right to use long-range missiles sent by the UK to strike deep inside Russia. ”Casey was warned that the response to Ukrainian strikes using British weapons on Russian territory could be any British military facilities and equipment on the territory of Ukraine and beyond,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement following the meeting. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Cameron’s statements to the contrary “de facto recognized his country as a party to the conflict.” Russia understands Cameron’s comments as “evidence of a serious escalation and confirmation of London’s increasing involvement in military operations on the side of Kiev,” the ministry added. Casey was urged to “think about the inevitable catastrophic consequences of such hostile steps from London and to immediately refute in the most decisive and unequivocal manner the bellicose provocative statements of the head of the Foreign Office.” On 05 May 2024 Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries claimed that “there’s a significant likelihood that America will have to get into the conflict – not simply with our money, but with our servicewomen and our servicemen” in the event of Ukrainian defeat. A victorious Russia would pose a threat to NATO, he reasoned during an interview with CBS News, repeating the case for continued aid made by the Biden administration for months. Moscow has said it has no intention of starting a direct conflict with the US-led military bloc.

Several US allies in NATO are “inching closer” to sending soldiers into Ukraine to train its armed forces, the New York Times reported 16 May 2024. Some American military contractors are already on the ground to repair US-supplied weapons systems. Facing troop shortages, the government in Kiev had asked the US and NATO to “help train 150,000 new recruits” inside Ukraine, so they could be sent to the front faster, according to the American outlet. The move “would be another blurring of a previous red line” and could draw the US and the EU “more directly into the war,” the Times noted. Although the White House has publicly opposed sending instructors, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff thinks it is inevitable. “We’ll get there eventually, over time,” General Charles Q. Brown Jr. told reporters on 16 May 2024, while traveling to Brussels.

French President Emmanuel Macron first raised the issue of sending NATO troops to Ukraine February 2024, as an idea that should not be ruled out. Estonia and Lithuania have since expressed support for either sending instructors or support troops, to free up Ukrainian soldiers for combat duty. The White House is “adamant” that it will not put American troops on the ground in Ukraine – including instructors – and has urged NATO allies not to do it either, an anonymous White House official told the Times. Meanwhile, Britain, France and Germany are working on a plan to send contractors to maintain weapons in the combat zone. Though the US has banned defense contractors from going to Ukraine, “a small number have already been allowed in, under State Department authority, to work on specific weapons systems like Patriot air defenses,” the Times noted.

Russia has no intention of capturing the Ukrainian city of Kharkov, which is close to the Russian border, President Vladimir Putin said 17 May 2024. Moscow’s forces had been making notable gains in the area in recent days. Speaking to reporters, Putin noted that Ukraine is to blame for recent fighting in the area, as it “unfortunately continues to shell residential blocks in the border areas, including Belgorod.” The president said “Civilians are dying out there. Everything is crystal clear. They are firing directly at the center of the city.” He had publicly warned Kiev that Russia would be forced to establish a “cordon sanitaire” in the areas under Kiev’s control if the attacks continued.

Putin first spoke of a “cordon sanitaire” March 2024, following several particularly deadly attacks on Belgorod that left dozens of civilians dead. Russian border regions have also been the target of incursions by the Russian Volunteer Corps and Russian Freedom Legion.

US Department of State spokesman Vedant Patel called the situation in the area “incredibly dire.” Several media reports suggested that the ease of Russia’s advance in Kharkov Region was due to Kiev’s failure to set up any proper defenses.

UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said 19 May 2024 that the growing alliance between Russia and China poses a threat to Western countries, and called on European countries to increase military assistance to Ukraine. Discussing the impact of the growing alliance between Russia and China in a Sunday interview with Sky News, Shapps said it was a "direct threat to our way of life". "If we cherish our freedom and cherish our democracy, we have to be concerned that they’re linking together," he said.

The comments came after Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin's recent trip to China, where he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping pledged to strengthen cooperation against US "containment" of their countries and warned of rising nuclear tensions with the West. Discussing Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, the UK Defence Secretary said that other European countries should provide more assistance. "We are in an existential battle about the way that we run the world order. We have to stand up to that," Shapps concluded.

The top commander of the Ukrainian military said 28 May 2024 France is planning to send instructors to his country for military personnel training. France's possible move would inevitably provoke a backlash from Russia, which is continuing its invasion of Ukraine. Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi posted on social media Monday that he welcomes France's initiative. He said French instructors plan to visit training centers soon and familiarize themselves with their infrastructure and staff. Syrskyi gave no details about the number of instructors and when they would be dispatched.

Ukraine's defense ministry also announced that the country is "still in discussions with France and other countries on this issue." The French defense ministry told the AFP news agency that military training in Ukraine is "one of the projects" under discussion. The ministry added that it continues to work with the Ukrainians "to understand their exact needs." In February, French President Emmanuel Macron said he did not rule out the possibility of the West sending ground forces to Ukraine. European leaders later denied the potential deployment of troops.

On May 28, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that when speaking about strikes inside Russia, representatives of NATO countries, "should be aware of what they are playing with." According to Putin, Russia is closely monitoring such a discussion. Once Ukraine’s military uses long-range weapons, Moscow will once again have to decide on "a sanitary zone," Putin said.

After the deadly bombings of the border city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy demanded the right to use Western weapons against Russian territory. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called almost daily for existing restrictions on Ukrainian attacks to be at least partially lifted. Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podoliak advocated the use of weapons supplied by the West against military targets in Russia. This is in accordance with international law, said the advisor to the Ukrainian presidential chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, on the ZDF program "Maybrit Illner." Podoliak accused Russia of completely escalating the war against his country. In order to stop Moscow, Ukraine must also be able to destroy military facilities in Russia.

French President Emmanuel Macron 28 May 2024 during his official five-day State visit to Germany. "We think we should allow them to neutralise military sites from which missiles are fired, military sites from which Ukraine is attacked," he told a joint news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Other countries, however, including Italy, are against removingthe restriction. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday warned that NATO is playing with fire by proposing to let Ukraine use Western weapons to strike targets inside Russia.

The USA on 31 May 2024 authorized the use of US weapons on targets in Russia to a limited extent . This only applies to counterattacks in defense of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, reported the news magazine Politico and the broadcaster CNN, among others. The Ukrainian military should be enabled to take action against Russian forces "that attack them or are preparing to attack them," Politico quoted a US government official as saying. The general US position that Ukraine should not use American weapons for offensive attacks against Russian targets had not changed - despite the exception that has now been announced. The US will allow Ukraine to use HIMARS MLRS, GMLRS, and artillery for attacks on Russian territory, the WSJ reports, citing US officials.

There was a lot of discussion, and on 31 May 2024 the German government decided: Ukraine can also use German weapons against targets on Russian territory. According to Defense Minister Pistorius, they adapted to the situation. Following the USA, Germany also allowed Ukraine to use weapons supplied by the West against targets on Russian territory under certain circumstances. This is in accordance with international law, said government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit.

"In recent weeks, Russia has prepared, coordinated and carried out attacks, particularly in the Kharkiv area, from positions in the immediately adjacent Russian border area," the statement said. They are jointly convinced that Ukraine has the right under international law to defend itself against these attacks. "To this end, it can also use the weapons supplied for this purpose in accordance with its international legal obligations; including those supplied by us," said the Federal Government spokesman.