WAR IN UKRAINE: February 4, 2023
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 346
The US says additional military aid to Ukraine worth $2.2bn (£1.83bn) will include long-range missiles capable of doubling its attack range, the BBC reported. Presumably the munitions could be used to attack parts of annexed Crimea. In a tweet, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the US and President Joe Biden for the additional aid. “The more long-range our weapons are and the more mobile our troops are, the sooner Russia's brutal aggression will end," Mr Zelensky wrote. "Together with [the US] we stand against terror."
Zelensky has been holding new EU accession talks with the bloc's leaders, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Council President Charles Michel, in Kyiv. Speaking after the summit, Mr Zelensky said the leaders had reached an "understanding that it is possible to start negotiations on Ukraine's membership in the European Union this year". But Ms von der Leyen said there were "no rigid timelines" in place and emphasised that Ukraine had political goals it must meet before joining the block. The EU has repeatedly underlined the need for Ukraine to step up its fight against endemic corruption, reform its judiciary by weeding out political interference and strengthen its economy - BBC
Ukrainian forces will continue their fight to hold on to the eastern city of Bakhmut, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on February 3 amid warnings of continued intense fighting and a coming offensive by Russian forces - RFE/RL
EU countries have also agreed to set price caps on Russian refined oil products to limit Moscow's funds for its invasion of Ukraine
Russian forces are ratcheting up pressure on the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, pouring in waves of fighters to break Ukraine’s resistance and targeting supply lines in a bloody campaign aimed at securing Moscow’s first significant battlefield victory in months. Eleven months after Moscow launched its invasion, Bakhmut and the areas around it have become a center of intense fighting, with growing importance as both sides add forces to the battle. Russia intensified its effort to capture Bakhmut, which may be key to seizing the entire Donbas area, after months of bombardment beginning in the summer yielded few gains. “The situation is very tough,” the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said in a recent nightly address after meeting with military leaders. He said, “There are constant attempts to break through our defense” - NYT
Required reading…
EU Commissioners Visit Ukraine
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and 15 commissioners went to Ukraine on Thursday. The purpose of the trip was to boost European Union-Ukraine relations. Ukraine hopes to one day join the European Union, but EU member states remain concerned about corruption and the health of Ukrainian democracy. This was the first EU political visit of its kind to a country at war.
In an email, Assia Ivantcheva and Tania Bulakh of the National Endowment for Democracy described the trip to Foreign Policy as “a clear message of unity and solidarity with Ukraine; and demonstration of EU’s commitment to supporting Ukraine in all areas, from political and economic, to humanitarian and military aid.”
“Russia’s war on Ukraine has changed both the EU and Ukraine,” Ivantcheva and Bulakh wrote. “It has reinvigorated the EU in an unprecedented manner, fostering political will among member states to defend sovereignty, democracy, and EU values. … In Ukraine, the desire to join the EU and NATO has never been stronger across the board.”
The Associated Press reported that European Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn, who did not make the trip, said “Ukraine’s destiny is in Europe” but added that “the EU accession path is a marathon, not a sprint.” As The Associated Press noted, the war—and the economic challenges it has presented to Ukraine—potentially limit the rate at which Ukraine can possibly implement reforms.
Still, recent weeks have shown a commitment by the Ukrainian government to tackle corruption, with Ukrainian journalists and watchdog groups exposingcorruption and Zelensky’s administration responding to the accusations. This week, still more high-ranking officials were dismissed in response to allegations of corruption.
“As some of our Ukrainian partners say ‘we need to win the war, but we also need to win the peace,’” wrote Ivantcheva and Bulakh, adding “for them success means not just a military victory, but also building a stronger democratic system.”
- Foreign Policy