THURSDAY 7 JULY 2022
UKRAINE UPDATE
UKRAINE, THE LATEST. The Daily Telegraph Podcast.
- Johnson is stepping down. His support for Ukraine has been very important.
- He was one of the most proactive leaders in sending weapons to Ukraine. He was supporting Ukraine with vocal criticism and weapons while Germany was sending 5,000 helmets.
- There is a wing of the Labor Party that is not supportive of Ukraine. It is possible this is nostalgic support. This is a long-term concern if Labor was to come to power after a general election.
- Dom Nichols, Telegraph Reporter
- Support for Ukraine is secure with Conservatives at the moment.
- Russia has not made any territorial gains today. They have fired missiles and people killed, but there have been no efforts to take ground.
- Both sides are exhausted.
- Russian ammunition dumps that have gone up in flames in occupied areas. This may be the effect of heavy artillery coming into Ukraine.
- There is an operational pause from Russia.
- The result is lobbing weapons at civilians in a random fashion.
- A “culmination” is when you are not being pushed backwards but you are exhausted and not able to push forward. It is thought this characterizes Russia at the moment.
- If it has taken all this just to gain this bit of territory in Donbas, it is impressive.
- They’ve taken the northers region of Donbas, but not the South.
- It should take a few weeks to get going again. But, all the time, there is an inflow of arms from the West.
- The Kremlin may push taking territory no matter what the cost. This may be the best decision rather than waiting and allowing more weapons to arrive.
- What is important to watch is whether this pause lasts.
Human Rights Lawyer Oleksandra Matviichuk, answering questions.
- She has been documenting war crimes by the Russians.
- Russia is claiming that 2 million people have experienced forced relocation. Some of them have left because they have no other alternative. Stay here and die or go to Russia.
- Russians do not let humanitarian assistance into occupied territories.
- There are not enough people or resources to investigate and prosecute these cases.
- Be ambassadors for the idea that justice matters.
- Russians enjoyed impunity for decades. Troops were not punished for atrocities they committed in other countries. This is a “circle of impunity.”