US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken surprises with statements on Ukraine’s territory.Image: FR159526 AP/Jose Luis Magana
Politics
The Russian war of aggression on the Ukraine has been going on for over a year now. Both sides have to mourn numerous deaths. Some cities in Ukraine are now in ruins. An end to the war is not yet in sight – rather the battles on the front line, for example in the town of Bakhmut, are becoming increasingly bloody.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken now surprises with a statement concerning the state territory of Ukraine. For the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, on the other hand, there is little room for maneuver.
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Blinking: peace agreement should be sustainable
Blinken should not rule out long-term negotiations on Ukraine’s future bordersreports the “Spiegel“. Before a parliamentary expulsion in Washington, however, the US Secretary of State is said to have emphasized that this decision was up to the Ukrainians. A peace agreement must be “just and lasting”.
Blinken also emphasized that Ukraine’s independence must be preserved, as must its territorial integrity. Der Spiegel quotes: “But how this is specifically defined in the territory, we’re waiting for the Ukrainians to tell us.”
The Foreign Minister assumes that there are areas in Ukraine over which the Ukrainians will definitely fight with determination. “And maybe there are areas that they decide they want to try to get back in other ways,” Blinken continued.
With this statement, according to observers, Blinken is said to have let it be known that Washington is not convinced that all Russian-occupied areas in Ukraine will be recaptured.
Selenskyj does not want to know anything about new borders
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made it clear in his evening video address: Ukraine will do its utmost “to rebuild our territories”. Even if some places in the contested regions are now up to 90 percent destroyed, that’s turning around Life back there, he made clear.
Volodymyr Zelenskyi has been making a video speech every evening since the outbreak of war.Bild: Newspaper photo / Antti Aimo-Koivisto
Even in fields in the Kherson region. Many of these fields are still fully infested with Russian mines and shells – but where the fields have already been cleared, they are now being cultivated and brought to life.
In this context, Zelenskyy addressed special thanks to Finland. The government in Helsinki decided on Thursday to hand over three Leopard mine clearance vehicles to Ukraine.
