War against Ukraine: This is the situation

Before the planned peace summit in Switzerland, tensions are growing in Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. In Singapore, Kyiv's President Zelenskyj is asking the world for help.

Two weeks before the peace summit planned in Switzerland, Ukraine has complained about new, massive Russian attacks on the country's energy infrastructure. The hydroelectric power plant on a reservoir on the Dnipro River near Zaporizhia, which was damaged in a Russian missile attack, is in “critical condition” according to authorities. Specialists must examine the safety of the associated dam, said the military governor of Zaporizhia, Ivan Fedorov, on Ukrainian television. “Currently, traffic from the left bank to the right bank is completely blocked.”

The hydroelectric power plant has been the target of Russian fire several times in recent months. A fire broke out in a massive rocket attack at the end of March. The power plant was badly damaged and had to be shut down for a while. Rockets struck the plant again on Saturday night.

Russia has been waging a war of aggression against Ukraine for more than two years. Moscow has also repeatedly targeted civilian targets such as cities and especially energy supply facilities. Due to the power shortages, energy supplies have been rationed and electricity prices have recently been increased. Last year, the Kakhovka dam on the lower reaches of the Dnipro was destroyed in the war zone. The flood triggered a huge environmental disaster. Dozens of people died. Thousands lost their belongings.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj criticized the constant Russian missile and drone attacks on the country's energy infrastructure at the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore and again appealed for help. Before the peace summit planned for June 15 and 16 in Switzerland, he also accused China of trying to disrupt the peace summit. China is working to “ensure that states do not participate in the peace summit,” he said.

Russia had criticized the planned summit to end Moscow's war of aggression against Ukraine as not being productive, something which Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin had also made clear during his state visit to Beijing in May. China, which itself presented a peace plan that was criticized as vague, does not believe that the conditions for participation in the meeting have been met, as Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning announced.

Selenskyj now announced that more than 100 states and organizations had confirmed their participation in the summit. The meeting in Bürgenstock near Lucerne, to which Russia is not invited, will focus primarily on prisoner exchange, food and nuclear security, he stressed. A plan will be handed over to Russia after the summit.

At the Shangri-La Dialogue, Zelensky called on the Asian region to participate in the summit. No country should allow itself to be intimidated by Russia. “Russia is now traveling to many countries around the world and threatening to block food, agricultural and chemical products, increase energy prices or simply exert pressure so that other countries in the world do not participate in the summit,” said Zelensky. The pressure on Moscow must be increased by diplomatically isolating Russia and by strengthening the Ukrainian army in order to stop Putin.

At a meeting with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Singapore, Zelensky pointed out that Russia's attempts to disrupt the summit could be thwarted if the heads of state of the participating countries also came to the summit. The Ukrainian thus indirectly criticized again the fact that US President Joe Biden is not traveling to Switzerland. Zelensky had previously complained that this played into Putin's hands.

“The United States' support for Ukraine's fight against Russian aggression will never wane,” Austin said on the social network X after the meeting with Zelensky. The US is committed to maintaining the strong support of a coalition of over 50 countries to help Ukraine defend its freedom.

Zelensky, in turn, thanked Austin for the recent concessions on military aid. The limited strikes against Russian territory now permitted by the USA served as an effective counter to Moscow's attempts to further expand the combat zone. The Ukrainian armed forces are under particularly strong pressure in the Kharkiv region bordering Russia.

Russia is conducting air strikes against the region around Ukraine's second-largest city from its positions on its own territory near Kharkiv, largely without strong opposition. The Russian Defense Ministry reported an advance in the Kharkiv region and the capture of another village in Donetsk, which is already largely occupied.

At the conference in the Southeast Asian economic metropolis, hundreds of ministers, military personnel and experts from all over the world discussed the current crisis areas and threats until Sunday. Topics such as artificial intelligence, cyber defense and future forms of warfare were also discussed.