Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Poland recently to strengthen the military and political support between the two countries. During the official state visit, he expressed gratitude to Poland for its help, and Polish President Andrzej Duda promised to send all of its MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine if there was a need. Duda also said that Poland was trying to secure additional security guarantees for Ukraine at a July NATO summit to be held in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius. The aim is to strengthen Ukraine’s military potential as the country battles Russian aggression.
The two presidents discussed the possibility of permanently opening borders for refugees, particularly given that Ukraine was at war. Zelenskyy hoped there would be “no borders in political, economic and — especially important — in historical terms.” Zelenskyy’s visit also garnered him Poland’s highest honor, the Order of the White Eagle, for deepening Polish-Ukrainian relations.
Meanwhile, Latvia voted to reinstate compulsory military service for young men aged 18 to 27, starting in 2024. The decision to reintroduce mandatory military service comes after Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. Latvia’s defense minister said the move is necessary to ensure that Latvia is protected through complex defense solutions that include not just weapons systems but also a large segment of society at the ready for military action.
Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to blame the United States and the European Union for the ongoing Ukrainian crisis. At a ceremony at the Kremlin to receive new ambassadors, Putin told US envoy Lynne Tracy that relations between Russia and the US were in a “deep crisis.” He believes that US support for the Ukrainian revolution in 2014, which toppled a pro-Moscow president, “in the end led to the current Ukrainian crisis.” He also told the European Union’s ambassador, Roland Galharague, that relations between Russia and Europe had “seriously degraded,” blaming the EU for “geopolitical confrontation.”
Putin and Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko recently held a two-day summit in Moscow, during which they steered clear of mentioning the war in Ukraine. Putin praised the cooperation between Russia and Belarus and said that they would discuss their joint work in all areas, including their cooperation in the international arena and ensuring the security of their states. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the two leaders would also discuss Lukashenko’s call for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine. Lukashenko is one of Moscow’s closest allies and allowed Belarus to be used as a staging ground for the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The situation in Bakhmut, Ukraine, is particularly dire, with Zelenskyy saying that corresponding decisions would be taken if Kyiv’s troops there risked being encircled by Russian forces. Zelenskyy’s priority is to ensure that no soldiers are lost, and if necessary, Kyiv will take action to prevent troops from being trapped by Russian forces.
