It’s been some time since President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had an opportunity to speak face-to-face. Their final get-together was when Zelenskyy got here to the USA in December final 12 months to press Republicans in Congress to cease blocking army help to Ukraine.
The distinction between that go to and Zelenskyy’s look earlier than a joint session of Congress in 2022 was a stunning demonstration of what number of Republicans had moved to help Russia as a substitute. One other 4 months would cross earlier than Biden was capable of make a deal to carry Ukraine help in entrance of the Home and begin the arms pipeline transferring once more.
On Friday, Biden and Zelenskyy met in Paris, the place each participated in ceremonies linked to the eightieth anniversary of D-Day and the allied liberation of Europe. Fortunately, they met with American arms as soon as once more on their technique to Ukraine, and Biden able to announce a brand new $225 million bundle of ammunition, artillery rounds, and new HIMARS rockets.
Nevertheless, the essential assembly might come per week from now when Biden and Zelenskyy can be collectively once more on the G7. That’s when European nations might determine to open the way in which for Ukraine to entry $50 billion {dollars} in frozen Russian belongings.
Beneath the proposed scheme, Russian cash wouldn’t simply be shifted immediately into Ukrainian accounts. As a result of, one way or the other, European governments discover seizing Russia’s frozen belongings to be “legally dangerous.”
One thing about dozens of countries sweating over the legality of grabbing cash left of their banks by a authorities concerned in an unlawful, unprovoked army invasion of a neighbor appears all too defining of the state of the world. Russia spent the week lobbing missiles into civilian areas, plunging massive areas of Ukraine into darkness with a scientific assault on power infrastructure.
And nonetheless, nobody seems like they’ll contact the cash.
The present G7 proposal concerned solely the income from seized Russian belongings as a result of the income are apparently much less of a authorized concern. The European Union would slide these income right into a particular fund that Ukraine might use for each weapons and for post-war reconstruction. And, if issues go properly on the G7, these income will even be used to again a proposed $50 billion mortgage that Ukraine might use to fund each army and civilian wants. Additional income from Russian belongings would even be used to service the mortgage, so Ukraine wouldn’t be on the hook for each greenback.
All of this is able to go a protracted technique to permitting Ukraine to take care of its wants for ammo and primary provides even when Speaker of the Home Mike Johnson decides to go on one other six-month trip from decency.
A fast look on the maps reveals that Russia has little, if any, Ukrainian territory during the last week.
West of Bakhmut, the place Russia has been making an attempt to seize the strategic excessive floor at Chasiv Yar, Ukrainian forces managed to retake the realm across the intersection at Kalynivka. Different Russian assaults on this space seem to have been ineffective.
On Friday night, Russian forces claimed to have captured a portion of Chasiv Yar. Nevertheless, movies supposedly supporting this declare seem to indicate one other location.
![Chasiv Yar Area Chasiv Yar Area](https://images.dailykos.com/images/1308753/large/ChasivYar.jpg?1717781980)
North of Kharkiv, the key exercise has been across the city of Vovchansk. Within the early a part of the invasion, Russia used Vovchansk as a serious distribution middle and its place as each a freeway nexus and a rail hub signifies that management of Vovchansk might be crucial to manage of the japanese portion of Kharkiv Oblast.
In September 2022, Ukraine liberated Vovchansk as a part of the Kharkiv counteroffensive. They drove Russia from the city and raised the Ukrainian flag with out breaking out heavy artillery or inflicting widespread injury.
However Russia’s return to the city has left Vovchansk a destroy; It’s a smaller model of the destruction seen in Bakhmut or Severodonetsk.
![Vovchansk Area Vovchansk Area](https://images.dailykos.com/images/1308757/large/Vovachansk.jpg?1717782980)
This week, Ukrainian forces drove onerous into the Russian occupiers within the northern a part of the city, making Vovchansk, for just a few days a minimum of, the burning coronary heart of the warfare. From the map ready by analyst Andrew Perpetua, it’s unclear that Ukraine has pushed Russia out of any important space. However the each day tallies, and stories from troopers, present Russia has had heavy losses within the space.
The Ukrainian normal employees stories that Russian forces proceed to probe at different places within the space north of Kharkiv metropolis, however all makes an attempt to advance have been efficiently repulsed by Ukrainian forces.
French President Emmanuel Macron wasn’t with out his personal announcement.
Throughout the D-Day commemorations in Normandy on June 6, French President Emmanuel Macron declared that Paris would give Kyiv an unspecified variety of Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets alongside the required coaching.
The skies over Ukraine are going to be very fascinating within the coming months.
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