Thea Fathanah Arbar, CNBC Indonesia
Thursday, 11/30/2023 10:10 WIB
Photo: Russo-Ukrainian War (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images/Anadolu Agency)
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The war between Russia and Ukraine which has been going on since February 24 2022 has not yet ended. Nearly two years after Moscow’s invasion of its neighboring country.
In the latest news, relations between European countries and Russia are increasingly heating up. Most recently, Moscow criticized the border closure by NATO country Finland and warned that tensions could arise if troops were deployed in the region.
On the other hand, Russia is also still tense with Ukraine. NATO foreign ministers and Ukrainian officials are understood to be meeting in Brussels Wednesday to discuss the war and ways to continue supporting Kyiv.
The following is another update regarding the war between the two neighboring countries, as quoted from CNBC InternationalThursday (30/11/2023).
Finland Border Closure
Russia condemned Finland’s decision. This is due to the closure of all border crossing points with Russia.
State President Vladimir Putin said that the decision was unjustified. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the shutdown until December 13 an excessive measure.
“Finland is not threatened by anyone or anything, and in this case, of course, it is a very excessive measure to ensure border security, because there is no threat there and in fact there are no tensions,” a Kremlin spokesman told reporters , which was published by the state news agency TASS, Wednesday local time.
Finland took the decision to close its borders on Tuesday. The country has repeatedly accused Russia of deliberately sending undocumented migrants through its country’s crossing points.
This country says Moscow is trying to create instability in Finland. Helsinki also saw a “hybrid strike operation,” as it described it, in retaliation for its joining NATO earlier this year.
Russia denies this. However, similar accusations were also leveled at Russia by Estonia and Latvia.
“Finland must clearly realize that this will pose a threat to us by increasing the concentration of military units on our borders,” Peskov said.
Blinken: ‘Unwavering’ NATO support to Ukraine
United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken said very strong support for Ukraine would continue. This was conveyed when NATO foreign ministers met with Kyiv officials in Brussels to discuss the war, Wednesday.
“I have to tell you, listening to all of our colleagues at the negotiating table, everyone expressed their strong support for Ukraine,” he told reporters.
“Some have questioned whether the United States and other NATO allies should continue to support Ukraine as we enter a second winter of Putin’s brutality. But the answer at NATO today is clear and unwavering: We must and will continue to support Ukraine,” he explained.
Many questions arise regarding the long term of American support for Ukraine in light of the upcoming 2024 elections. Including the emergence of dissatisfaction among Republicans regarding continued military assistance.
Germany Increases Military Support to Ukraine
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said her country would increase military support for Ukraine. This emerged amidst the decision of the German Constitutional Court (MK) which refused to use the remaining Covid-19 funds for other things, which forced Berlin to put the brakes on its debt and finances.
“Not only are we maintaining our military support for Ukraine’s self-defense, but we are increasing it by 8 billion euros,” Baerbock said Tuesday.
“Security and peace in Ukraine are also a guarantee for peace in Europe,” he added.
Hungary Will Never Send Arms to Ukraine
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said his country would never send weapons to Ukraine. According to him, the more weapons sent, the longer the war will last.
Szijjártó added that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with President Putin in October to see if there was room for peace in the ongoing conflict. Despite being a member of the European Union, Hungary maintains good relations with Russia.
It is known that Hungary also opposes European sanctions against Moscow and opposes efforts to curb Russian oil and gas imports. Hungary defended its continued energy cooperation with Russia, saying it needed to maintain energy supplies and fight inflation.
3,000 Chechen Muslim Fighters Sent to Ukraine
Chechen Muslim leader Ramzan Kadyrov says he will add troops to Ukraine. About 3,000 Chechen fighters will help the Russian army there.
“To complete the tasks set by our Supreme Commander Vladimir Putin, we will not spare any efforts or resources,” Kadyrov said on Telegram.
“This position is also shared by three thousand other Chechen soldiers who are starting to serve as part of the new units of the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Russian National Guard,” he stressed.
He said two new regiments under the Russian defense ministry had been created. They are called AKHMAT-Russian” and “AKHMAT-Chechen”.
Kadyrov said most of his troops had combat experience. They also have the best equipment and modern weapons.
“Apart from that, the players are very aggressive and very motivated to achieve results,” he said.
Chechen fighters have a strong reputation. One of them was obtained in two wars against Russia in the 1990s and early 2000s when the Chechen Republic attempted to gain independence from Russia.
However, times have changed since then. Kadyrov is also a Putin loyalist.
NATO’s New Strategy in Ukraine
On the other hand, in its latest update Thursday morning, NATO promised to develop a Ukraine roadmap together with the bloc’s military. Kyiv reportedly welcomed the announcement.
In a statement issued, the Western alliance said that it was “developing a roadmap for Ukraine’s transition to full interoperability with NATO”. NATO defines “interoperability” as the use of shared weapons and equipment, tactics and doctrine, as well as terminology and communications standards, to enable member states and their partners to operate on the battlefield together.
“We have become a de facto NATO army, in terms of technical capacity, management approach and principles of running the army,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba was quoted as saying RT.
However, the statement did not mention that Ukraine would join NATO in the near future. Instead, they praised Kyiv’s commitment to a package of political and military reforms, and said these changes would help Ukraine “on its path toward future NATO membership.”
Kyiv itself has been tied to these reforms since NATO said in 2008 that Ukraine “will become” a member at an unspecified time in the future. The country has not received a membership date in the 15 years since
Watch the video below:
Video: Russia is again completely pounding Ukraine
(sef/sef)
2023-11-30 03:10:00
#Gaza #War #Moves #Russia #Ukraine #Heats #Involves #NATO
