By Lateef Adegbite
Naftali Bennett , Israeli Prime minister , PM, who flew to Moscow on Saturday, March 5, 2021, with the blessings and encouragement of Joe Biden, the North American country of the United States, US, and Germany, had said that mediation on the Ukrainian crisis is not likely to yield any success but had said he will continue trying until the two countries agree to a permanent ceasefire. He had travelled to Russia to meet president Putin over the country’s Special military Operation in Ukraine to stop the US, from building a military base in the east European country.
Even Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey President, was said to have spoken to the Russian President on Sunday, March 6, 2022, has given his words that the country is ready to help resolve the crisis. He has offered to host talks between Ukraine and Russia, insisting that the two sides must stop fighting.
Erdogan has vowed that Turkey will not abandon its ties with Ukraine or Russia. There are indications that Narendra Mordi, the Asian country of India PM, which over 500 of the country students studying in Ukraine are said to be trapped was said to have spoken to Zelensky and Putin, on Monday, March 7, 2022. He had said that Presidents Zelensky and Putin must have a direct talk. Another world Leader that was said to have spoken to the Russian Leader over the Ukrainian crisis was Emmanuel Macron of France.
The Israeli PM, may have kept too his word that he will stop at nothing until Ukrai and Russian resume talks again. On Monday, March 7, 2022, Representatives of the two countries began the third round of talks in Belarus. The development comes amid the temporary ceasefire in the Ukrania port cities of Sumy and Mariupol including Kyiv, the capital and Kharkiv , a major city in Ukraine.
The Russian Defense ministry had said that the ceasefire was undertaken to open a humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians in the besieged port cities of Sumy, Mariupol , including Kharkiv city. Many see the hands of Benneth, he Israeli PM, in it.
Recall that the Israeli PM, had the initial fears that there would not be any success in his mediation of the Russian –Ukraine war is because, of Russia’s demand that Ukrain must drop the idea of joining NATO, or give the US the nod to establish a military base in the country.
This is because of the events of 1962, when the US had frustrated Nikita Krushchev, the then Premier of the old Union of Soviet Socialist Republic , USSR, from establishing a military base in the Island of Cuba, on the invitation of Fidel Castro, the country ‘s Persident.
Russian may have seen that NATOs’s target to drag Ukraine into the Organisation as it had succeeded in getting Romania, Bulgari, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovania, Estonia, Lactia and Lithunia, into the body was because of the country’s three Nuclear plants in order to control it.
It was the therefore, not surprising why the Kremlin had taken took the bold initiative ‘’ to conduct a Special military Operation in the country’’ thus sending a message to the US, UK and EU, particular, that Ukraine can never join NATO.
He could beat his chest that the Russian Forces have seized and taken control of two of the Ukranian nuclear plants and are advancing toward the third one which is sited in Yuzhnoukransk, 75 miles north of Mykolaiv. Even the United Nations, watchdog, could Authoritatively confirm that Russian forces have seized Zaporizhia new plant and have placed its own staff to be running the facility under their Command and restricted Communications with the outside world. The takeover of the Ukrainian Nuclear plants and other major cities may have informed why Putin had said that Ukraine may lose its ‘’stahood’’.
Andrei Fedorov , a former deputy Foreign Affairs minister of Russia, had said that Putin is pursuing a clear goal that’’Ukraine as it is today should be changed’ . Hear him : I have known him for many years, he will stop at nothing until he achieves his goal. He is optimistic t that in the next 5-6 days , the military Operation will be extended to more territories , including the port city of Odessa.
He has predicted that Russia Army will surround Kyiv, Capital of Ukraine and force President Zelensky and his governemnt to resign, in order’’ to set up an interim government for Ukraine’’. President Zelensky has called for support from the NATO countries, particular, the seven east Europe member countries to supply it Russian manufactured planes to strength its Air Force to defend the Kyiv city.
There is no gain saying the fact that the situation in Ukraine , with all the support of the NATO countries, particular, US, remains dire as the number of refugees fleeing the country due to the Russia invasion since Thursday, February 24, 2022, had reached 1.5 million , according a report by Filippo Gandi, the Head of the United Nations, UN,Human Rits Commission, UNHRC. The UN HRC, boss had described the Ukraine-Russia war as ‘’the fasted refuge crisis’’ in Europe since the end of the WWII.
Note that despite the gang up of the NATO countries, against Russia, the Kremlin, which had described them as ‘’behaving like bandits’’, had said that Russia is ‘’too big to be isolated as the world is much larger than just the US and Europe’’.
For now, the Ukrainian President believes that the NATO countries are not giving the country enough support to fight Russia, a nuclear power. He has heaped criticisms on the western Leaders for not responding to the Russian Defense ministry ‘s recent announcement that ’’it would strike Ukraine’s military industrial complex’’, while telling employees of these defense plants to go to work.
This may have informed why he has urged the US and its allies to strengthen the sanctions against Russia. The NATO countries may have gotten the message clearly as the US, Germany and Netherlands, were said to have agreed to deploy more troops to Lithunia, a former Russia ally and now a member country of NATO.
The US Leadership were said to have concluded arrangement to send a troop battalion armed with tanks to Lithunia to support Ukraine. The US military deployments are also due to include more troops from the Netherlands, which were said to be separate to another set of troops coming for military exercises in Lithunia this March.
Arvydas Anusauskas, Lithunia, Defence minister had said that the NATO countries deployments and military exercises which was 3,000 will increase to 4,000 by the end of March, 2022 .Lithunia Authorities may have known that the country has played into the hand of Putin that they have asked NATO, to add more troops and equipment to the country.
Presidents Zelensky and Joe Biden on Monday, March 7, 2022, were said to have met over the Ukraine criss . Zelenskyy was said to have used the opportunity of the meeting to ask for’’ more financial support for Ukraine in the face of the crisis and stiffer sanctions for Russia’’. Recall that Putin had described he west sanctions by the west and implementation of a no fly zone over Ukraine as a ‘’declaration of war on Rusia’’.
Boris Johnson, the UK, Prime minister had announced a $100 million aid to Ukraine to support their fight against Russia on Sunday, March 7, 2022. The $100 million financial support which is to be provided through the world bank is in addition to the #220 million of overall aid support to Ukraine by the NATO country. The Ukrainian government had cried out that the Russia Forces are killing their people but have resorted to Adolf Hitler style of Propaganda during the WWII, by claiming that over 11,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since the war started while only about a little over 10,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed. The Russia ministry of Defense had said that only 500 of the country’s soldiers have been killed in the war.
Many believe that if the Ukrainian forces with all the support of the US and its allies, could kill that number of Russian troops, there would not have been any need for the 66,200 Ukrainians staying abroad including students to have returned home to join in the fight against Russia. It is shows that the country is desperate.
Given the direction of the Ukrainian crisis which had affected its Agricultural export market and to ensure that the country’s Agricultural goods will not get into the Russian markets, the Zelensky government had introduced export Licenses for its key Agricultural Commodities such as wheat, corn and sunflower oil. The Ukrainian government was said to have also made it mandatory that traders of poultry products and eggs would need the License to export to their oversea Customers.
. Prior to the Russia invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, February 24, 2022, the country was said to be the world’s leading producer and exporters of rain and Vegetable oils. As the world’s largest exporter of sunflower, more than 60 million toes of grains annually including 33 million tons of corn, and 23 million tonnes of wheat was exported.
The war- torn east European country was said to have suspended exports of several Agricultural Commodities in the face of the Russian in. The government was said to have suspended exports of erye, oats, millet, buckwheat, salt, sugar, meat and Livestock, to Customers oversea by ship,
The country was said to have use its railway facilities to deliver its grains to borders with Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland and which are delivered to the ports and Logistics of European countries but all that had stopped since Thursday February 22 and now. Agency report had it that the country had exported 43 million tons of grain as at February 23, 2022, which was below its market target.
Given the drop in the Ukraine Agricultural export market may have forced Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a former minister of Finance and coordinator of the Economy during the Administrations of Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan and now, Director General,World Trade Organisation, WTO, that it was not good for the world economy, appealing to the two sides t to end the war because of the people suffering.
I n a related development, Putin, the no nonsense Russian President may have sent a signal to the US and its allies to expect a wider war if a ‘’no fly zone is set over Ukraine, as Russia forces were said to have resumed offensive against the port city of Marupol.
