While there may not be any major practical outcomes, the summit is a chance for Ukraine to press its case that any settlement of the war should be based on just principles.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, left, speaks to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken after placing flowers at a memorial for fallen soldiers in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 15, 2024. Blinken told Ukrainians that billions of dollars in American military aid is on the way after months of political delays.
(AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
The Russia-Ukraine war over the past several months has been described as a stalemate and Russia’s latest offensive as a ploy. If so, it’s proving to be a successful one, and here’s why the West is to blame.
Ad-hoc responses to the situation in Ukraine don’t amount to a coherent vision.
Ukrainian refugee with a child leaves the country at the Slovakian border fleeing Russian aggression against Ukraine, February 2022.
Yanosh Nemesh/Shutterstock
Some people think the decision to impose higher tariffs is just an excuse used by the EU to keep protecting its own farmers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech before presenting the Russian Hero of Labour gold medals in June 2023.
(Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russia has tied its currency to gold to evade sanctions. Shifting the ruble away from a pegged value and into the gold standard itself is aimed at making it a credible gold substitute at a fixed rate.
A Ukrainian tank fires at Russian positions in Chasiv Yar, the site of fierce battles in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Feb. 29, 2024.
(AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Russia’s armed forces continue to gain territory in Ukraine, at high cost to both sides.
Soldiers climb out of trenches in this First World War photo. The successes of the 100 Days Offensive in 1918 were influenced by the Allies’ reliance on a strategy of maximum effort, flexible campaigns and advances in tactics.
(CP PICTURE ARCHIVE/AP)
The toll of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on people’s wellbeing was felt worldwide. The effects were temporary for most. But those high on certain psychological traits struggled for longer.
Ukraine has fought off relentless waves of Russian attacks over the past two years, but if its Western support dries up, its resistance will be very hard to sustain.
In this photo released by Sputnik news agency on Feb. 9, 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson at the Kremlin in Moscow.
(Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Why is there such a Russian focus on the Second World War? Because it’s used to justify authoritarian states, the rule of dictators like Putin and Belarus’s Alexander Lukashenko.
Burnt-out cars after a Russian attack on a residential neighbourhood in Kharkiv, Ukraine on Feb. 10, 2024.
(AP Photo/Yevhen Titov)
With the Ukraine-Russia war entering its third year, Ukraine’s supporters must provide the right aid to the country and domestic politics cannot undermine the urgent needs of the country’s military.
Ukrainians observe a minute of silence in Kyiv on Oct. 1, 2023.
Libkos/Getty Images
Nearly 3,800 educational facilities have been damaged from bombing and shelling thus far in the war. Documenting these attacks requires extensive interviewing with reluctant, traumatised witnesses.
This would send the message the West’s much-vaunted values and respect for rules are little more than rhetoric. It will also legitimise conquest as an option that goes unpunished.
Vladimir Putin and Ramzan Kadyrov have a personal relationship based on mutual dependence.
Mikhail Metzel/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
The leader of Chechnya rules with brute force, impunity and near autonomy. Why doesn’t Vladimir Putin rein him in?
Labeling a Russian rocket attack that killed 12 people in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, as a ‘tragedy’ sidelines human accountabilty.
Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
Calling something a ‘tragedy’ serves to minimize human responsibility for its causes, which can be convenient for the people who are causing the ‘tragedy.’
Maitre de conférences en sciences de la communication, Chercheur au PREFICS (Plurilinguismes, Représentations, Expressions Francophones, Information, Communication, Sociolinguistique), Université Rennes 2