Nov 9, 2022: Russia Ukraine Crisis
The US government, led by President Joe Biden, says it is committed to working closely with Russia while helping India break its distance. The White House said, there are many countries that have recognized the fact that Russia is not reliable in the energy or security sector. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said that the US has consistently made it clear that India-Russia relations have grown and strengthened over several decades. In fact, these relations were formed during the Cold War when the US was not able to be an economic, security and military partner for India.
Ned Price said, “Things have changed now and it has changed over the past 25 years, starting with President George W. Bush’s administration. The US has tried to deepen its partnership with India in every field, including economic, security and military cooperation.” In response to a question on India’s purchase of oil from Russia, Ned Price said that there is a huge demand for energy in India, it gets oil and other sources of energy from Russia, this is not something that goes against the sanctions imposed. “Many countries have learned that Russia is not a reliable source of energy,” he said.
The US and Russia will soon hold talks on restoring their suspended nuclear arms control oversight. The Foreign Ministry said that these inspections were stopped due to the Covid-19 epidemic and the Russo-Ukraine war. Ned Price said negotiations on inspections under the terms of the ‘New START’ treaty will take place in the near future. He did not specify the date or place of the talks, but other officials indicated that the talks could take place in Egypt at the end of the year. On Wednesday, the Russian military was said to be withdrawing from Ukraine’s southern city of Kherson and surrounding areas. This may be a humiliating defeat for the Russian forces in the eight-month-old battle. However, Ukrainian officials have not confirmed this. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has been saying in recent days that the Russians want to pounce on Ukrainian forces under the pretext of withdrawing from the city of Kherson.
On Wednesday, 9th September 2022, General Sergei Surovikin, the supreme commander of the Russian army, is said to have submitted a report, to the Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, that the supply of logistics to Kherson and the surroundings and the western bank of the Dnieper River had become impossible. It is said that Shoigu then ordered the General to retreat. The city of Kherson is the capital of the province of the same name, which Russia had captured from Ukraine and annexed it. Withdrawing from here would be a bitter gulp for Russia. The city, with a population of 280,000, was the only regional capital that was occupied by Russia after its attack on 24 February. In the summer, the Ukrainian forces had made a strategy of counterattacks to take back the territory occupied by Russian forces. Russian-appointed officials said more than 70,000 citizens of the city and the Moscow-appointed administration had left the city at the end of October.
Nine months have passed since the start of the Russo-Ukraine war and now the Ukrainian army is mounting counter attacks on the Russians. Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that his army will not give Moscow even a centimeter of its land. Zelensky’s statement comes in the midst of an ongoing battle for control of the eastern Donetsk region. On the other hand, Russian artillery has targeted more than 30 settlements in the Kherson and Mykoliev areas. USA is insisting on extension of the grain supply agreement that ends in 11 days.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met the Foreign Minister of Belarus Vladimir Meki on Wednesday. India maintains that the crisis must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue.
Note: Please also read ‘Ending the Ukraine War: Using Tactical Nuclear Weapons’ at DiGiNews360.com
—by Team DiGiNews360