On Feb. 18, representatives from Russia and the US met in Saudi Arabia to find out if peace in Ukraine is feasible. Ukrainian representatives were not invited.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio mentioned on social media that the assembly was a step in creating an “enduring peace” between Russia and Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed in a media interview that the assembly was “very positive” and confirmed the true that means of the talks was to start out normalising relations between Russia and the U.S.
Though U.S. President Donald Trump has claimed “the Russians want to see the war end,” Russian officers stay dedicated to their struggle goals. Russian overseas minister Sergei Lavrov introduced earlier than the conferences that Russia would not return Ukrainian territory. After, he said that ought to a peace deal be brokered, any peacekeeping forces could not come from NATO nations. The latter assertion stunted rising European efforts to develop a safety assure for Ukraine ought to a ceasefire be reached.
Keith Kellogg, U.S. envoy for Kyiv and Moscow, mentioned after his Feb. 20 assembly with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the U.S. is aligned with the nation — and that any finish to the struggle with Russia ought to ensure there is no “next war”. But White Home officers don’t appear to have Ukraine’s finest curiosity in thoughts in negotiating a possible decision to the struggle.
As an illustration, U.S. Secretary of Protection Pete Hegseth introduced on Feb. 12 that the U.S. authorities doesn’t imagine NATO membership for Ukraine “is a sensible end result of a negotiated settlement.” He added that Ukraine would want to simply accept territorial concessions to Russia.
Trump has additionally more and more parroted Russian narratives — akin to claiming that Ukraine began the struggle. He has additionally delegitimized Zelenskyy by claiming he’s a “dictator” who refuses to carry elections — regardless of the nation’s structure stating elections cannot legally be held below martial legislation.
Trump additionally continues to demand 50 per cent of Ukraine’s natural resources to repay the US for earlier army and monetary help. This has led to a deterioration in Ukrainian-U.S. relations at a time the place Russian-U.S. relations seem like enhancing.
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Ukraine’s natural resources are at centre stage in the ongoing war, and will likely remain there
European leaders have responded with frustration. Zelenskyy has made his place clear that any negotiation should embrace Ukraine on the desk. Ukraine would not accept an imposed peace.
Any try at negotiating an enduring peace between the 2 nations should embrace accountability for Russian crimes.
The realities of Russia’s invasion
American overtures for peace have typically referred to “stopping the millions of deaths” in Russia’s struggle in Ukraine. Whereas on the floor this purpose is admirable, it oversimplifies the realities of what the final three years of struggle have accomplished to Ukraine. Particularly, Russian forces have dedicated extensive war crimes and atrocity in Ukraine.
Russian forces barrage Ukraine with drone strikes and terror bombing — together with focusing on civilians. At the same time as negotiations had been occurring in Saudi Arabia, Russian drones struck Odesa, injuring 4 civilians. This was the newest in a protracted line of such assaults. Worldwide Felony Court docket (ICC) arrest warrants are out for Russian military leaders on simply this situation.
(AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
The Ukrainian authorities has confirmed over 19,500 Ukrainian children have been kidnapped by Russian forces. However in July 2023, Russian officers claimed that they had over 700,000 Ukrainian children in Russian territory.
Investigative reporting confirms the Russian authorities is assimilating these children — forcing them to cease talking Ukrainian and elevating them with a Russian id. These actions have additionally led to ICC arrest warrants for Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s Kids’s Rights Commissioner who oversees this system. Russia’s actions violate the UN Genocide Convention.
Widespread sexual assault by Russian forces has been documented in opposition to Ukrainian women and men. Torture chambers have additionally been present in liberated cities. Russian forces dedicated mass homicide in a number of Ukrainian cities — underscored by the invention of mass graves in Bucha, Izium and Lyman.
Mariupol, as soon as a metropolis of over 400,000 has been diminished to a inhabitants of 120,000 as of 2023. This showcases the devastation caused by Russian forces. Russia has additionally began seizing buildings to provide to Russian settlers to additional Russify the city.
The realities below Russian occupation are solely partially identified. The Russian authorities has demanded Ukrainians residing below occupation forfeit their Ukrainian identification paperwork and obtain Russian passports. In colleges, Russia has absolutely carried out its nationalistic curriculum, which incorporates “anti-Ukrainian propaganda” aimed toward assimilating Ukrainian kids.
In opposition to worldwide legislation, forcible Russification of the Ukrainian folks has grow to be a common feature of Russian occupation throughout this struggle.
Ukraine’s battle for justice
Ukraine continues to battle in opposition to Russian occupation. Whereas it’s honourable to need to cease the deaths brought on by combating, the Russian regime’s actions in Ukrainian territory have to be remembered too.
This is the reason justice is simply as necessary as decision. Whereas it’s unlikely Russian officers will discover themselves earlier than the ICC, there have to be some type of accountability for Russian crimes in opposition to Ukraine if peace is negotiated. Whereas current frontlines could dictate the place Ukraine could also be pressured to cede territory or freeze battle, the realities of Russian aggression can’t be ignored.
Right here, historical past presents a information for what shouldn’t be accomplished this time when brokering a peace deal.
Learn extra:
How Russia’s fixation on the Second World War helps explain its Ukraine invasion
Throughout the Second World Warfare, Soviet forces dedicated intensive war crimes and atrocities. But the Soviet Union by no means confronted a reckoning for these acts. Russian officials remember this. Consequently, Putin feels empowered to commit comparable atrocities in Ukraine — believing Russia, simply because the Soviet Union, received’t face any penalties.
For any chance of lasting peace, accountability and justice for Russian struggle crimes have to be on the forefront of negotiations. In any other case, Russia can have realized it will probably act with impunity — threatening the chance of tolerating peace for Ukraine.
