World Affairs International

President Zelensky reaffirmed his position in Kyiv and his belief that no concessions can be made regarding Ukrainian sovereignty. He did acknowledge that NATO would have to definitively announce whether Ukraine could ever join NATO, as he has shown willingness to accept a guarantee never to pursue NATO membership should it help arrange a ceasefire. Symbolically, he stressed that ‘de-Nazification’ could not be mentioned in any form in an agreement, citing Russia’s Hitleresque diplomacy and destruction of a nation with deep ties to Judaism.

In recent days, the Pentagon has reported an increase in aerial activity by Russia and more airstrikes across Ukraine. This comes as the U.S. prepares to potentially send long-range aerial defenses. Such defenses may provoke Putin to strike closer to the Polish border, but at the rate at which airstrikes are killing civilians, such protection is necessary. U.S. and British intelligence has now confirmed a shift in Russia’s military strategy, focusing more on bombardment and subjugation rather than conquest. With most Russian advances stalled and Ukrainian forces being to launch counteroffensives, it is likely that Russia, unless escalating with weapons of mass destruction, will only make territorial gains before their economy suffers a complete collapse.