What to know after Day 656 of Russia-Ukraine war
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE
Zelenskiy, in Washington, urges Congress not to play into Putin’s hands
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told a U.S. military audience on Monday that he hoped he can still count on the United States and urged Congress not play into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hands, as he started a critical visit to Washington to shore up security assistance.
“We won’t give up. We know what to do and you can count on Ukraine. And we hope just as much to be able to count on you,” Zelenskiy said in an address to the National Defense University.
U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has warned Congress that a failure to renew military assistance to Ukraine could tip the nearly two-year-old war in Russia’s favor, creating national security threats for the West.
Zelenskiy, in an oblique reference to disputes in Congress over allocating aid, said it was “crucial that politics … not betray the soldiers.”
“Let me be frank with you, friends. If there’s anyone inspired by unresolved issues on Capital Hill, it’s just Putin and his sick clique,” Zelenskiy added.
Zelenskiy has been invited to meetings at the White House and with members of Congress on Tuesday. Many Republican lawmakers have questioned continued aid to Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine early last year, triggering a war that has killed or wounded hundreds of thousands and led to the biggest confrontation between Russia and the West in six decades.
Bolstered by billions of U.S. military aid, as well as U.S. intelligence, Ukraine was able to fend off Russia’s initial attempt to sweep the country and roll Russian forces back in key towns. But Kyiv failed to break through Russian defensive lines in a major counteroffensive push this year and Russia is now on the offensive in the east.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned that Putin still hoped to achieve victory in Ukraine, even as he offered assurances of “unshakable” U.S. support to the country.
“Despite his crimes and despite his isolation, Putin still believes that he can outlast Ukraine and that he can outlast America. But he is wrong,” Austin said to applause.
He added, in apparent reference to Congress: “America’s commitments must be honored.”
Congress has approved more than $110 billion for Ukraine since Russia’s February 2022 invasion but it has not approved any funds since Republicans took over the House from Democrats in January.
By mid-November, the U.S. Defense Department had used 97% of $62.3 billion in supplemental funding and the State Department had used all of the $4.7 billion in military assistance funding for Ukraine it had been allocated, U.S. budget director Shalanda Young said last week.
RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE
West wants to replace Zelensky – Russia’s top spy
Western officials are discussing the potential removal of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky from power, the head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), Sergey Naryshkin, claimed on Monday. The spy chief outlined there are numerous reasons why Zelensky is seen as undesirable, the most significant being his lack of flexibility regarding the interests of the West.
According to the SVR chief, the West believes the Ukrainian president has gone too far in fostering his image of an uncompromising hawk in the conflict with Russia. In the event of the need to “freeze” the hostilities, this would mean Zelensky is no longer useful in any potential negotiations, Naryshkin claimed.
“According to the US intelligence services, with the way the situation in the Ukrainian theater of war is developing, the need [to freeze the conflict] may come soon,” the spy chief stated.
Naryshkin further claimed that a replacement for Zelensky was being considered due to his unfulfilled promises to defeat Russia on the battlefield, widespread corruption in Ukraine, and the leader’s disrespect when dealing with foreign sponsors. Zelensky has officially decreed that any negotiations with Moscow are impossible as long as Russian President Vladimir Putin remains in power.
Alternatives to Zelensky were discussed on the sidelines of November’s meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, according to Naryshkin.
Potential options purportedly include the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, Valery Zaluzhny, military intelligence chief Kirill Budanov, the head of the president’s office, Andrey Ermak, or even Kiev mayor and ex-boxer Vitaly Klitschko.
Following Kiev’s failed summer counteroffensive, Ukrainian Colonel General Aleksandr Syrsky said on Sunday that the Russian army is constantly “conducting offensive operations along the entire front.”
Zaluzhny last month referred to the situation on the front lines as a “stalemate,” admitting there was no hope for a breakthrough. Those comments reportedly fueled a growing rift between the general and the Ukrainian president.
According to the Ukrainskaya Pravda news outlet, Zelensky has resorted to creating alternative lines of command to give orders directly to officers such as Syrsky, thus bypassing Zaluzhny. “It seems that Zelensky has two kinds of the ZSU (Ukrainian armed forces): the ‘good’ guys commanded by Syrsky and other favorites, and the ‘bad’ guys who answer to Zaluzhny,”the outlet quoted a source close to the presidential administration as saying.
Ukrainians’ trust in Zaluzhny surpassed that of Zelensky even last year, the report claimed, while polls showed that the army general would beat the incumbent leader in a hypothetical presidential election. Earlier this year, Zelensky dismissed the idea of holding elections in 2024 as irresponsible at a time of war.