UKRAINE President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky has called on the Ministers of Defence from 40 countries due to convene in a virtual conference on Monday to approve the delivery of Multiple Launch Rocket Systems to the Ukrainian army. According to the European site Politico, the USA, which has this weapon, is reluctant to offer it to Ukraine as it would enable the latter to hit targets deep into the Russian territory as the missiles fitting these systems have a range of up to 500 kilometers. Zelensky request comes against a stepped up Russian onslaught in eastern Ukraine, the invaders’ main target after the defeat suffered in Kyiv. The Russian troops are pressing the Ukrainian forces mainly in Lugansk, which together with Donetsk are forming the so-called Donbas. Clashes in Donbas have intensified after Russia managed to take over Mariupol after a violent siege of nearly three months during which the city was almost entirely destroyed. According to Reuters, Russia is using aviation, artillery, tanks and rockets along the entire eastern front. In the meantime, Polish president Andrzej Duda, is currently paying a visit to Ukraine where he is going to speak before Parliament. According to a communiqué posted on his site, Duda has thus become the first foreign president talking to the Ukrainian legislature since the beginning of the war Russia started in Ukraine on February 24th.
DAVOS After a two year recess caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the world’s political and economic elite again convenes in Davos, a forum expected to be dominated by the war in Ukraine, AFP reports. Organisers of the renowned World Economic Forum late last year announced that a meeting in person would be held in the mountain resort of Davos over May 22 and 26, after several online editions caused by the pandemic. A wide range of topics are high on the agenda, from climate changes to energy prices and fears about a potential global food crisis, gender equality, football and the metaverse. However, the world economic forum in Davos has become famous for the talks held outside of its official programme. Among the most famous events it saw along the years was the first ministerial meetings between the South and North Korea in 1989 or the talks on Apartheid between the president of South Africa, Frederik De Klerk and the then dissident Nelson Mandela. This year’s edition of the Davos forum is expected to bring together roughly 25 hundred participants, including numerous company directors and over 50 heads of state and government.
UKRAINE Parliament in Ukraine on Sunday extended the martial law and general mobilization for 90 days, until August 23rd after the country’s president Volodymyr Zelensky had earlier signed a decree in this respect.Zelensky also called on the Ministers of Defence from 40 countries due to convene in a virtual conference on Monday to approve the delivery of Multiple Launch Rocket Systems to the Ukrainian army. According to the European site Politico, the United States, which has this kind of weapon, is reluctant to offer it to Ukraine as it would enable the latter to hit targets deep into the Russian territory as the missiles fitting these systems have a range of up to 500 kilometers. Zelensky request comes against a stepped up Russian onslaught in eastern Ukraine, the invaders’ main target after the defeat suffered around Kyiv. The Russian troops are pressing the Ukrainian forces mainly in Lugansk, which together with Donetsk are forming the so-called Donbas. Clashes in Donbas have intensified once Russia managed to take over Mariupol after a violent siege of nearly three months during which the city was almost entirely destroyed. According to Reuters, Russia is using aviation, artillery, tanks and rockets along the entire eastern front. In the meantime, Polish president Andrzej Duda spoke before the Ukrainian Parliament on Sunday becoming the first foreign president talking to the Ukrainian legislature since the beginning of the war Russia started in Ukraine on February 24th. The Polish official said that only Ukraine had the right to decide its future and that he would campaign for its EU membership.
