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60 I Eastern Europe bne May 2023
of decreased Western support and a protracted war.
Sybiha is a veteran diplomat focusing on foreign policy in the president’s office and has been at Zelenskiy’s side during key moments in the war.
Sybiha’s comments come after several suggestions that peace talks should start soon.
In a surprising admission, Zelenskiy told two AP journalists that Ukraine may be forced to start peace talks if it loses control of Bakhmut in the Donbas, during a two-day conversation with AP journalists on March 28-29.
The battle for Bakhmut has been going on for seven months, with neither side gaining much advantage, leading some analysts to ask why Kyiv is expending so many resources to maintain control of the relatively strategically insignificant town.
Zelenskiy told the AP journalists that
if Ukraine gives up the town it may
be forced to sue for peace. Zelenskiy predicted that if Russia defeats Ukraine in Bakhmut, Putin would set out to “sell” a victory to the international community and at the same time it could change the mood of the domestic population, making it impossible for him to continue the war.
“Our society will feel tired,” he
said. “Our society will push me to compromise with [Russia].” Zelenskiy warned that a loss anywhere at this stage in the war could put Ukraine’s hard-fought momentum at risk.
At the same time, several of Russia’s allies have also called for peace talks to start. China floated a 12-point peace plan on February 24, but the terms
are unacceptable to Kyiv. The Chinese plan would leave most of the occupied territory in Russia’s hands, including the Donbas and Crimea, and turn the eastern half of the country into
a demilitarised zone.
While this plan is seen as unworkable, French President Emmanuel Macron and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen were both in Beijing this week to meet with President Xi Jinping. They called on the Chinese premier to use his leverage over Russia to help bring an end to
the fighting.
Beijing has not commented on the war, and has refused to condemn it. However, Xi has also talked about the need to respect the sovereignty of countries and is attempting to position China as a mediator in the war. Xi
has also yet to talk to Zelenskiy after spending three days in Moscow in
March, but told Macron and von der Leyen that he would do so “when the time is right.”
Less significantly, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko also called for a ceasefire during his state of the nation speech last week. Lukashenko proposed a truce without the right to move groups of troops and transfer weapons and equipment. He also said it necessary to immediately start negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv to bring peace to
the region, in another proposal that is considered unworkable by experts.
Another Putin ally, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, caused a storm last week after saying that his country supports the Chinese peace plan for Ukraine during a radio interview, and that a ceasefire is the necessary first step.
“We also consider China’s peace plan important and support it,” the Hungarian leader said.
Nato and the Western leaders have largely dismissed these suggestions, especially the Chinese plan, as none of these countries have condemned Russia’s war. The West contends that these suggestions for a ceasefire are simply a ruse to lock in the territorial gains that Russia has made and freeze the conflict where it is.
"The Devil is on Earth": Zelenskiy and European
leaders mark anniversary of Bucha massacre
Dominic Culverwell in London
Ukraine marked the painful one- year anniversary of the liberation of the occupied territories in Kyiv’s suburbs on March 31.
In just 33 days, Russia committed over 9,000 war crimes during the brutal occupation of the Bucha region, the Kyiv Independent reported, with the murder of more than 1,400 civilians, including 37 children, and reports of rape and torture.
www.bne.eu
“It was horrifying,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said at a press conference. “The Devil is not somewhere out there, it is on Earth.”
The crimes shocked the world and
led to Russia’s expulsion from the UN Human Rights Council. Nevertheless, Moscow denies any wrongdoing and blasted the reports as fake news, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
To mark the anniversary, Zelenskiy was joined by Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger, Slovenian PM Robert Golob, Moldovan President Maia Sandu and Croatian PM Andrej Plenkovic at a ceremony in the region. The leaders will attend the summit "Bucha – Russia's responsibility for crimes in Ukraine" later in the day.
“What happened in Bucha one year ago was not an isolated episode. Those