Ukraine officer tells US that Russia plots big advances
A senior Ukrainian delegation was visiting Washington just as President Donald Trump said that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin warned him by telephone of major retaliation over a daring Ukraine drone strike deep into Russia.
Colonel Pavlo Palisa, who served on the frontlines until President Volodymyr Zelensky in November named him as deputy head of the president's office, presented what he said were findings from Ukrainian military intelligence.
Speaking to reporters after briefing US lawmakers and officials, Palisa said that Russia has set a goal of seizing by the end of September the entirety of Donetsk and Lugansk -- two of the four regions that Russia has claimed to have annexed, and which feature in a Russian proposal that Ukraine terms an ultimatum.
By the end of the year, Russia wants to establish a buffer zone along the Ukraine-Russia border, Palisa said.
"It's interesting, but they have plans even for 2026. The plan for next year is to occupy the whole part of Ukraine which is situated on the left bank of the Dnipro River," he said.
The goal is to "occupy Odessa region and Mykolaiv region, to cut Ukraine's access to the Black Sea," he said.
He did not specify the sources of his assertions.
The Black Sea is militarily and economically critical for Ukraine and a major route for shipments of grain to the developing world.
The vast Dnipro runs through the capital Kyiv and flows to the Black Sea, bisecting Ukraine, whose historical legitimacy has been questioned by Putin.
Palisa said the purported intelligence findings on Russia showed "what they think in reality."
"Unfortunately, they are not speaking about peace. They are preparing for war," he said.
Top Zelensky aide Andriy Yermak, who led the delegation to Washington, encouraged US lawmakers to move forward on a new sanctions bill to "increase the pressure on Russia."
"It's necessary to create the right atmosphere that Russia will go to negotiation -- but go not to make a show, but concrete and real negotiation," Yermak said.
Yermak met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has repeatedly warned that Trump -- who took office vowing quickly to end the war and who briefly cut off support to Ukraine -- is losing patience with Putin.
sct/sla
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNBC
18 minutes ago
- CNBC
Trump's trade policies are helping India-China ties — but they aren't resetting them
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi wrapped up his two-day trip to India on Tuesday — the latest sign of warming ties between Beijing and New Delhi. During his visit, Wang said India and China should "view each other as partners and opportunities rather than adversaries or threats," according to a readout from the Chinese Foreign Ministry translated by Google. In the readout, Wang also said the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October 2024 marked a "restart" in China-India relations. Contrast that with the souring of U.S.-India relations over the past few months. U.S. President Donald Trump went from giving bear hugs to Modi in February, to labeling India the "tariff king" six months on, slapping India with one of the highest duties, and accusing it of fueling Russia's war in Ukraine through oil purchases . The rift raises the question: Is India, a country that has enjoyed strong diplomatic relations with Washington, now drawing closer to Beijing? Ivan Lidarev, visiting senior fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies, told CNBC that India is indeed moving toward Beijing, but pointed out that the cooling of U.S.-India ties is just one factor. India and China ties had warmed after Xi and Modi met in October last year on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, where the two sides had agreed to deescalate tensions along their disputed border. "President Trump's policy toward India, and actually toward China, to some extent, has accelerated this process," Lidarev said. Trump slapped high tariffs on India for buying oil from Moscow, but said last week after his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin that he has no immediate need to consider retaliatory tariffs on countries such as China for doing the same. Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at Washington-based think tank Wilson Center, told CNBC's " Squawk Box Asia " Wednesday that with friction in the U.S.-India relationship, New Delhi is more inclined to hedge against the uncertainty in its relations with the U.S. by trying to "open things up "with China. Lidarev pointed out, "On the U.S. side, there is no change in public perception of India, but on the Indian side, there is a very big change in public perceptions. I think that many Indians are very unhappy with U.S. behavior. They believe that India has been mistreated. They're outraged by the tariffs and by what they see as American attempts to twist India's hand." Thawing China-India ties In a sign of warming ties, China's Wang called on Modi on Tuesday, extending to him an invitation from Xi to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tianjin at the end of August. Modi has accepted the invitation. A trip would mark the Indian prime minister's first visit to China in seven years. Direct flights from India to mainland China , which have been suspended since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, are set to resume. Both sides also agreed to reopen border trade at three designated trading points. Indian media reported on Wednesday that China agreed to lift curbs on exports on fertilizers, rare earths and tunnel boring machines. Separately, several Indian companies have pursued partnerships with Chinese companies earlier this year, The Economic Times reported in July. Indian conglomerates Reliance and Adani Group have, likewise, reportedly been pursuing deals with Chinese companies , with Adani Group founder Gautam Adani visiting companies like battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology in June. Tactical, not strategic reset However, the move toward Beijing does not signify a fundamental reshaping of India's relationships in the Indo-Pacific, experts said. Chietigj Bajpaee, senior research fellow for South Asia at Chatham House, told CNBC that the China-India relationship is undergoing a "tactical rather than strategic reset." " None of the fundamental grievances in the bilateral relationship have been resolved," he highlighted. Bajpaee noted that the border dispute has not been resolved, and there are some fault lines that are still present in the relationship, including water disputes and China's "all-weather" relationship with Pakistan. That was seen in the border conflict in May between India and Pakistan, in which the latter claimed that Chinese-made J-10C Pakistani fighters shot down India's French-made Rafale fighter jets. Pakistan had procured the J-10Cs back in 2021, in response to India buying 36 Rafales in 2015. Similarly, Li Mingjiang, associate professor at Singapore's S Rajaratnam School of International Studies said the current detente is more of a "tactical pause." He noted that both sides — referring to Beijing and New Delhi — have strong incentives to manage tensions, but because of the unresolved tensions, the easing is likely to be short term in nature. In his view, the broader Indo-Pacific landscape is still defined by competition and hedging. To be sure, India still does have a deep relationship with the U.S., with the two nations having a "Comprehensive and Global Strategic Partnership" with cooperation in defense, technology, and clean energy . India was also designated a "major defense partner" by the U.S. in 2016. When asked if India will remain the U.S.' counterweight to China, Li said it's unlikely that New Delhi would abandon that role. He added that both countries share "enduring strategic interests" in limiting Beijing's regional dominance, and that current tariff pressures are mainly related to the Russia-Ukraine war. "If that conflict winds down, Washington and New Delhi may find it easier to smooth over trade frictions," Li said.
CNBC
an hour ago
- CNBC
Oil prices rise after supply concerns resurface as Ukraine peace talks stall
Oil prices rose on Wednesday as supply concerns are resurfacing while peace talks ending Russia's invasion of Ukraine are likely to take longer, leaving in place sanctions on Russian crude and raising the chance of further restrictions on its buyers. Brent crude futures were at $65.93 a barrel by 0149 GMT, up 14 cents, or 0.21%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures for September delivery, set to expire on Wednesday, rose 37 cents to $62.72 a barrel, up 0.59%. The more-active October contract was at $61.92 a barrel, up 15 cents. Prices settled down more than 1% on Tuesday on optimism a deal to end the war seemed closer, which would mean the easing sanctions on Russia and an increase in global supply. However, despite comments from U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday the U.S. might provide air support as part of a deal to end Russia's war in the country, he also conceded Russian President Vladimir Putin might not want to make a deal after all. Trump on Monday said he was arranging a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskiy, to be followed by a trilateral summit among the three presidents. Trump said on Tuesday he discussed holding possible talks between Zelenskiy and Putin in Hungary with the country's Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Russia has not confirmed it will take part in talks with Zelenskiy. "The likelihood of a quick resolution to the conflict with Russia now seems unlikely," said Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ, in a note on Wednesday. In the U.S., BP said on Tuesday operations at its 440,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Whiting, Indiana, were affected due to flooding caused by a severe thunderstorm overnight, potentially weighing on the facility's crude demand. The site is a key fuel producer for the Midwest market.
Business Insider
an hour ago
- Business Insider
Russian preschools are introducing patriotic and war-themed lessons to teach kids to 'love the Motherland'
A new Russian pilot program with 100 preschools aims to teach children as young as three to be "worthy citizens" and "cultivate respect for the culture and history of Russia," the country's education ministry said. The lesson series, called "Conversations about Important Things," is to be tested in schools for children from three to seven in the occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia regions, Moscow, Kaliningrad, and at least 17 other Russian oblasts and autonomous regions. On Tuesday, Russia's education minister, Sergey Kravtsov, said the classes would be tailored to young children with "colorful illustrations, interactive tasks, and game elements." "This will help children better absorb information, form correct ideas about important life values, and ultimately grow up to be worthy citizens of their country," Kravtsov said. While the education ministry said the program involves lessons on citizenship, morality, and families, it is also meant to foster a "love for the motherland." "Conversations about Important Things," which promotes Russia's national identity and past war actions, has been compulsory learning in high schools since 2022, the year that Moscow invaded Ukraine. The new push into preschools comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin said in October that he supported the program being rolled out to the country's "youngest children." Putin said he was disappointed, for example, that the Soviet Union's heavy losses in the Battle of Stalingrad were not discussed in children's textbooks about World War II. "All this shows that, of course, at the very earliest age we must instill certain basic things in a child," he said at a meeting with Russian teachers that month. "But everything, I repeat, must be within the bounds of reason." War-themed lessons for preschoolers The education ministry didn't specify what activities would be included in the pilot lessons. However, social media posts from some Russian preschools and kindergartens indicate that they've already voluntarily introduced some form of these programs. Novaya Gazeta Europe, an independent news organization founded by exiled Russian journalists, wrote in October that over 560 Russian preschools and kindergartens had posted about introducing "Conversations for Important Things" to their students. The outlet analyzed social media posts from over 10,000 kindergartens about war-themed lessons. It found that at least 19,000 of these activities were about supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In other posts seen by Business Insider on the Russian social network VKontakte, preschools and kindergartens uploaded photos of children video-calling a Russian soldier purportedly fighting in Ukraine and of students lining up in formation to honor the Russian flag. For example, one kindergarten in the Orenburg region said in October that it held a version of "Conversations about Important Things" to discuss the local farming industry. It posted a photo of young children holding up the region's coat of arms. Another preschool, in Kursk, said it invited a former helicopter pilot who fought in Afghanistan to speak to students. The post said he "read poems of his own composition about the exploits of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War and participants in a special military operation." In January, the city of Vologda also said in a statement that all of its kindergartens were planning patriotic and war-themed classes for "Conversations about Important Things." "Children will be told about the heroes of the Great Patriotic War, military professions, hero cities, monuments, awards for military exploits, and much more," the statement said, referring to World War II. One analysis by the independent Russian media outlet Agency found that the classes in Vologda discussed military awards, taught kids how to be bandaged, and included games about armored vehicles. Власти Вологды первыми в стране ввели еженедельные «Разговоры о важном» в детсадах Мэрия Вологды во вторник объявила о начале еженедельных занятий с детьми «Разговоры о важном» во всех 78 детсадах города, приурочив этот проект к Году защитника Отечества и 80-летию Победы в… — Новости «Агентства» (@agents_media) January 21, 2025 All of this comes as Russia goes all out to shore up local support for the war in Ukraine. Moscow has also sought to assimilate the population of occupied Ukrainian territories, offering parents cash sums to send their children to Russian-controlled schools. Public favor is especially key for the Kremlin, which relies on costly infantry assaults to fight against Ukraine — a tactic requiring a steady flow of fresh recruits from the civilian population. Ukrainian intelligence says that Russia has repeatedly hit its recruitment targets through hefty sign-up bonuses and payments made to families of wounded or killed soldiers. This year, Russia reportedly plans to recruit 343,000 new troops.
