(by Andrea Pinto) The army of Putin he thought that, as happened in the Crimea, taking Ukraine would be child's play, a quick and painless operation. In fact, the massive use of troops and vehicles in Ukraine has been narrated to Russian public opinion as "an operation special", Without ever saying the word"war". But already after a few days the evidence told another story made of resistance, strong nationalism and a sense of belonging. The charismatic figure of a president has been added to this formidable mix "leader" Zelensky who did not flee the country but continued to spread propaganda, from the Presidential Palace, according to a single and essential slogan: "Do not abandon their land, even to the point of extreme sacrifice".
The situation on the battlefield, in fact, short-circuited a large part of the general staff of Moscow, sending the modern-day Tsar into a rage. Putin thus began to find among his ranks those who could not foresee the strength of the Ukrainian resistance. Intelligence services expert then arrested the top of the FSB XNUMXth Division because he would have realized that he had simply been misled: intelligence, fearing to anger the leader, would have provided him with what he himself wanted to hear. Then the two would have been arrested for improper use of the funds allocated for the operations, as well as for the lack of intelligence information.
The Ukrainian army of over 200 thousand units did not dissolve, on the contrary it continued to fight with greater ardor, receiving the sympathy and support then from foreign volunteers from all over the world and included in the International Brigade. On the other hand, the ultra-modern weapons arrived in Ukraine thanks to US (500 million dollars) and EU funds (another 500 million euros) are another matter. The strength of Moscow's weapons, on the other hand, has not convinced many international observers and analysts who have highlighted the age of the tanks and the poor logistical organization.
Perhaps Putin in recent years has dedicated huge resources only to nuclear weapons and to intercontinental and hypersonic ballistic missile systems? Who knows, the truth is that the Ukrainian quagmire could tempt Putin to use which one "Extrema ratio" precisely those weapons of mass destruction that frighten the world and that would decree the beginning of a global conflict with far from obvious results.
Chronicle of the latest events
The Ukrainian president Zelensky in the night he again incited resistance: "We will win", then he turned to NATO: “Without a no-fly zone it is only a matter of time before a Russian missile falls into Alliance territory". Yesterday in Irpin, on the outskirts of Kiev, the US reporter, Brent Renaud, was killed while filming refugees on the run. After the news broke, the White House National Security Advisor, Jack Sullivan, interviewed by CNN, warned the Russia: 'It will suffer serious consequences for what it is doing'.
Zelensky then spoke of the request made for a face to face with Putin, without having received, at the moment, any feedback.
Mariupol has been under heavy siege for days, the population is exhausted, food and medicine are lacking, while Odessa is preparing for a Russian invasion by sea and by land from the east.
THE SUMMIT OF ROME. The US-China summit in Rome between the American national security adviser is historic Jack Sullivan and the chief of diplomacy of the Communist Party of China Yang Jiechi. A meeting that comes as rumors filter through Russia's request for military assistance, including drones, and economic assistance to China. For Sullivan and Jiechi it is the first meeting since last October, the first face to face then since the war began. China never condemned the attack on Moscow but abstained, rather than voting 'no', on the UN resolution against Russia. Just a few days ago the Chinese president Xi Jinping however, he used for the first time the term 'war', so unwelcome to his ally Vladimir Putin.
In view of the Roman meeting, Joe Biden consulted with the current president of the EU, Emmanuel Macron. The two leaders, reports the Elysée, have agreed to strengthen sanctions against Russia.
RUSSIA ASKS CHINA FOR HELP. According to the Financial Times Russia would have asked China for military assistance to support the invasion of Ukraine. According to FT sources, Moscow has asked for military equipment and other military assistance from Beijing since the beginning of the invasion. The request has raised concern within the White House, raising fears that Beijing might jeopardize efforts to help Ukrainian forces defend the country. The United States has "be prepared to warn allies about the situation in light of indications that China could help Russia“, Highlights the Financial Times, reporting that some American officials have received indications of some shortages in the weapons of the Russian forces.
THE EVOLUTION OF THE CONFLICT. Russian missiles destroyed a military base in Yavoriv, halfway between Lviv and the Polish border, which is about 25 km away. 35 people were killed, among the 134 injured also Dutch of the foreign legion. Moscow claims to have killed 'foreign mercenaries' and destroyed 'foreign weapons'.
The White House warns Moscow that it would pay a high price if it ever used chemical or biological weapons. Warsaw: 'If Putin uses chemical weapons, NATO intervenes'. The Italian Defense Minister, Lorenzo Guerini: "We will not allow attacks on Europe, the EU must have a common defense policy ”.
At least 596 civilians have been killed since the start of the conflict in Ukraine 18 days ago. Among them, 43 are children. This was stated by the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (Ohchr), according to which the injured civilians have risen to 1.067, including 57 children. In the previous report yesterday, the United Nations agency had spoken of 579 victims and 1.002 injured.
Meanwhile, another Ukrainian mayor was kidnapped by the Russian armed forces: it is the mayor of the occupied city of Dniprorudne, in the southeastern part of the country, in the Zaporizhzhia region. The Kyiv Independent reports it. The mayor of Dniprorudne, Yevhen Matviiv, is the second mayor kidnapped, after that of Melitopol, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. "War crimes are becoming systemic," said the governor of the Zaporizhzhia region Olexandr Starukh.
About 1 million people are without gas and heating in Ukraine, due to the Russian attacks. The country's gas supplier said this, according to the Guardian. GTSOU has made it known that it is working to repair the damage caused by the bombing and restore supplies. The bombings damaged the infrastructure of Donetsk, Luhansk and Mykolaiv. Engineers were prevented from reaching a gas distribution center in Bashtanka due to ongoing fighting. A center in Prybuzke was closed due to damage to equipment.