Russia continued its shelling of eastern Ukraine on Saturday and claimed to have destroyed a stockpile of weapons delivered by the West with cruise missiles, as US President Joe Biden signed legislation providing for massive new aid from 40 billion dollars in Kyiv. Meanwhile, the WHO is meeting in Geneva this Sunday to discuss the impact of the war in Ukraine on the environment.
Information to remember:
- Americans signed $40 billion aid to Ukraine
- WHO meets to discuss the impact of war on the environment
Huge U.S. aid to Ukraine
Joe Biden signed on Saturday, during an official visit to Seoul, the law adopted Thursday by Congress providing a gigantic envelope of 40 billion dollars in support of Ukraine, in particular for its war effort. Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed in a tweet, in Ukrainian and English, the release of aid “now more necessary than ever”.
The impact of war on the environment
The war in Ukraine and its procession of planetary threats, an endless Covid-19 pandemic: the 194 member countries of the WHO are meeting in Geneva this Sunday in this complicated context to build a more efficient and just global health system.
A resolution initiated by Ukraine must in particular denounce the attacks perpetrated by Moscow on the health system but also condemn the extremely serious consequences of the invasion and blockade of Ukrainian ports on world supply and the explosion in the price of cereals. .
“The war in Ukraine has a systemic impact on international organizations since it requires considerable time to be spent managing the Russian question in organizations and the declination of the consequences on health in Ukraine, in Europe and in the world. “, explains a European diplomat. A balance must also be found, with many countries believing that Ukraine’s allies are applying double standards, neglecting other crises and that health cooperation is a separate area to be preserved.
Fighting continues in the east
Russia continued to shell eastern Ukraine on Saturday and claimed to have destroyed with cruise missiles a stock of weapons delivered by the West. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the current phase of the war, where the Russians are concentrating their efforts in the east, “will be bloody” but in the end it will have to be resolved “via diplomacy”. “Discussions between Ukraine and Russia will inevitably take place,” he told Ukrainian television ICTV, as talks that were sketched out in Turkey a few weeks ago remained a dead letter.
He said he was once again ready if necessary for a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, who has so far never followed up. Volodymyr Zelensky, in his usual video message posted in the evening, noted that the military situation had “not changed significantly” on Saturday “but it was very difficult”.
“The situation in Donbass is extremely difficult,” he insisted. But the Ukrainian army “repels this offensive. Each day that our defenders disrupt the plans of the Russians brings us closer to the crucial day, (…) which we all desire and for which we fight. The day of victory”.
Soon an exchange of prisoners?
Russia will “study” the possibility of exchanging fighters from the Ukrainian Azov regiment taken prisoner for Viktor Medvedchuk, reputed to be close to Vladimir Putin, Russian deputy and negotiator Leonid Sloutski said on Saturday. Viktor Medvedchuk, 67, is a Ukrainian politician and wealthy businessman who was arrested in mid-April in Ukraine while on the run.