Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

EU leaders reject Russian peace terms – Serbian President warns of major war

The war in Ukraine

Published 17 June 2024
– By Editorial Staff
No real steps toward peace in Ukraine were taken during the weekend conference.
4 minute read

The leaders of a number of European countries, including Italy and Germany, are rejecting the terms for a cease-fire in Ukraine recently presented by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni calls the peace plan “propaganda”, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz dismisses the Russian proposal as a “dictatorial peace”.

In short, Russia’s conditions for peace negotiations are that Ukraine withdraw from the oblasts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya and agree to remain neutral and not join NATO.

This weekend’s peace conference in Switzerland – to which Russia was not invited – brought together leaders from some 90 countries and global institutions to discuss how to bring the war to an “acceptable” end.

The draft declaration issued at the summit states that any peace terms that involve Ukraine ceding territory to Russia, and Zelenskyi’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, tells the BBC that there will be “no compromise on independence, sovereignty or territorial integrity”.

Similar rhetoric was heard from European leaders, with Giorgia Meloni declaring that “it doesn’t seem particularly effective to me as a negotiation proposal to tell Ukraine that it must withdraw from Ukraine”.

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak argues that Putin is only pretending to negotiate and that Russia is “on the wrong side of history”.

– Freezing the conflict today with foreign troops occupying Ukrainian land is not an answer. In fact, it is a recipe for future wars of aggression, said European commission president Ursula von der Leyen.

Volodymyr Zelenskyj and some of the assembled leaders. Photo: President.gov.ua/CC BY 4.0

Criticism of Russia’s absence

Other leaders expressed disappointment that Russia had not been invited to the conference, such as Slovakia’s foreign minister Juraj Blanar, who said the war could only be ended through diplomacy.

– I do not expect the conference to bring a definite conclusion, because the Russian Federation will be absent, as well as other global players, such as China, he said on Saturday.

At the same time, some leaders seemed a bit weary of the war, with Finland’s Alexander Stubb pointing out that “if we don’t talk about peace, there will never be peace”.

Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba also commented on the criticism of Russia’s non-invitation, admitting that at some point it will be necessary to sit down and talk with Russia at future peace meetings.

– Of course we understand that there will come a time when it will be necessary to talk with Russia, he said, rejecting Putin’s demand that Ukraine hand over the four occupied regions and refrain from joining NATO.

“All conclusions are foregone conclusions”

Colombia’s leftist president, Gustavo Petro, was one of those who decided to cancel his participation in the conference because he felt there was no serious ambition to discuss an end to the war between Moscow and Kiev. Instead, he believes that some forces are trying to prolong the war.

“I am canceling my trip to a meeting in Switzerland and asking Europe to discuss how to end the war, not prolong it”, he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). According to Petro, the conference in Switzerland is “not a free forum for discussing the path to peace between Russia and Ukraine”. “All conclusions are already foregone”, he added.

Colombia’s Gustavo Petro. Photo: Gustavo Petro/FB

Stressing that “most Latin American countries and the Colombian government do not agree with the extension of the war”, Petro also believes that diplomacy plays a fundamental role and supports the idea of creating a nuclear-free security zone that physically separates NATO and Russia and “guarantees permanent security in the countries”.

He also said that Colombia is ready to participate in any effort to establish a peaceful dialogue between Russia and Ukraine and that “International law must be restored and strengthened, not the creation of military blocs of states”.

“Facing a catastrophe”

Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic recently went even further, saying that “The train has left the station, and no one can stop it”.

– I believe that we are getting close to the last days of possible rethinking and reconsidering in Ukraine. If those big powers don’t do anything in a short period of time, yes, I’m pretty much certain that we’ll face a real disaster.

– Everybody’s speaking only about war. Nobody wants to reach peace. Nobody speaks about peace. Peace is almost a forbidden word. Please notice this! Because they say we have to win in order to secure a future peace, but nobody’s speaking about a peace… you have to have the other side on the table as well.

Aleksandar Vucic
Aleksandar Vucic, President of Serbia. Photo: Belgrade Security Forum/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

According to Vucic, there is a “theory” in the West that they can keep bleeding Russia until they lose the war, whereupon Putin will also be toppled and eventually the West will be able to go in and take over parts of the country, a plan he says is doomed to fail.

– In today’s Europe, they all act like big heroes, but they do not say to their people that they will pay a very big price, he said, adding that all resources should be put into achieving a lasting ceasefire.

“We cannot afford to lose the war.”

He added that NATO and the US “cannot afford to lose the war in Ukraine”.

– First of all, their political legacy will not exist, or it will be so poor that they cannot allow [it]. Number two, the position of Europe and the collective West in geopolitical terms will deteriorate so much that no one will be able to revive it … and number three, it will open Pandora’s box for more movements, at least, and hostilities against [the] collective West in the future.

– But take the other side…. If Putin loses the war, Russia will not exist and will not be shaped like it is today. I mean, when you have these two sides so … far from each other, with their wishes, with their expectations, you see that everything is at stake. Everything. No one can afford to lose. When you have this situation, that’s why I’m saying that we’re getting closer to a real disaster.

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Slovakia urges West to engage in dialogue with Russia

The new cold war

Published 2 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Slovak Deputy Prime Minister Juraj Blanar believes that Western leaders must use diplomacy and dialogue to end the war.
2 minute read

Slovakia’s Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar believes that the war in Ukraine cannot be decided on the battlefield. Instead, he urges the Western world to seek a peaceful solution through direct dialogue with Russia – and warns that continued tensions could lead to a catastrophic large-scale war between NATO and Moscow.

– We do not want a war between Russia and NATO to break out, because that would be the Third World War. We want the conflict to be settled peacefully, Blanar said during a discussion program on Slovak public broadcaster STVR last Sunday.

Blanar emphasized the importance of diplomacy and called for a return to “respect for international law”. He also suggested that the Western world should seek ways to renew contact with Moscow – “and perhaps even forgive everything that has happened”.

Slovakia, like Hungary, has consistently pushed for de-escalation of the conflict and opposed additional EU sanctions against Russia.

The country’s president Peter Pellegrini has also urged EU member states to resume direct talks with Moscow and has simultaneously rejected demands for rapid military buildup within NATO, arguing that defense spending should reflect each country’s own priorities – rather than concerns about Russia.

Russia demands Ukrainian neutrality

Russian officials have condemned the US-led bloc’s decision last week that member countries should raise their defense budgets to 5 percent of GDP – a measure that NATO says will deter the “long-term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security”.

The Kremlin has repeatedly stated that it has no intentions of attacking any NATO country and has called the accusations “nonsense” – a scare tactic that, according to Moscow, is used by the West to legitimize increased defense spending.

Moscow states that it seeks a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine war, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that a lasting agreement must include recognition of the actual situation “on the ground”, as well as Ukrainian neutrality.

According to Putin, contacts between Moscow and Kyiv are being maintained regarding a possible third round of peace negotiations. Previous talks have been held in Turkey, where the parties have exchanged draft peace proposals and carried out several prisoner exchanges.

Majority of Ukrainians want peace through compromise

The war in Ukraine

Published 1 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
It was previously often claimed that Russia would be defeated on the battlefield - today the picture is different, and more voices are advocating for peace through negotiations instead.
2 minute read

A majority of Ukraine’s population now indicates they are willing to accept compromises or make concessions to end the war with Russia.

This is shown in a new opinion poll conducted by the Ukrainian think tank Janus Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts, the polling institute SOCIS Centre for Social and Marketing Research, and the publication Barometer of Public Opinion, which compiles and disseminates opinion data.

According to the survey, 55.7 percent of respondents now support a solution through compromise with the involvement of international leaders. An additional 16.6 percent advocate for a temporary freezing of the war, with a ceasefire along the current line of contact.

Photo: facsimile/socis.kiev.ua

In total, this means that over 70 percent of respondents are open to some form of settlement or pause in the hostilities.

Meanwhile, 12.8 percent want to continue the war until Ukraine’s borders from 1991 are restored, while 8.6 percent indicate they prefer continued fighting until the borders from February 23, 2022 – the day before the Russian invasion began – are restored.

1.2 percent chose another option, and 5 percent of respondents refused to answer or could not take a position.

Photo: facsimile/socis.kiev.ua

The survey also shows that 57.6 percent believe elections should be held in Ukraine if peace negotiations with Russia lead to a temporary cessation of hostilities and an end to the state of war.

The opinion poll was conducted between June 6-11, 2025, and included 2,000 respondents aged 18 and older who were interviewed in person across Ukraine. The survey did not include residents in temporarily occupied areas or in areas where active fighting was ongoing at the time of data collection. The statistical margin of error is stated as ±2.6 percent.

Russia: Kiev and London planning false flag attacks

The war in Ukraine

Published 17 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer with Volodymyr Zelensky.
2 minute read

The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) accuses Ukraine and the UK of jointly planning sabotage operations and false flag attacks with the aim of escalating the Ukraine conflict and making continued dialogue between Moscow and Washington impossible.

In a statement on Monday, the SVR claimed that Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) and Military Intelligence (GUR) are increasingly coordinating their efforts with British intelligence, as a result of what the SVR describes as Kiev’s “mounting battlefield setbacks and deepening moral exhaustion”.

According to the SVR, these sabotage operations and false flag attacks follow a recurring pattern, with the UK responsible for planning and coordination while Ukrainian agents carry out the attacks. The agency pointed to the railway sabotage in Russia’s Bryansk and Kursk regions, which Moscow describes as Ukrainian terrorist attacks, as well as drone attacks on Russian air bases on June 1, as examples of this tactic.

The intelligence service is now warning that the “Anglo-Ukrainian terrorist tandem” is preparing more false flag attacks. The aim is said to be to escalate the conflict, sabotage the dialogue between Moscow and Washington, and influence the US to continue its military support for Kiev.

Planted sea mines and torpedoes

One scenario described is an attack in which a Russian torpedo attack on a US Navy ship in the Baltic Sea is staged. According to the SVR, Ukraine has already delivered Soviet-made torpedoes to the UK. Some of these are intended to detonate at a safe distance, while one is to be left undetonated “as evidence of Moscow’s malicious activity”.

The SVR also points to a possible scenario in which British, Ukrainian, and Northern European actors plan to “accidentally” find Russian sea mines in the Baltic Sea in order to claim that Russia is trying to sabotage international shipping – another type of false flag attack.

“Kiev has become the perfect executor of vile provocations and terrorist acts for perfidious Albion (England)”, the SVR concluded.

The head of intelligence, Sergei Naryshkin, has previously warned of similar British attacks and says that Russian intelligence is well aware of London’s covert hostile activities against Russia.

Hockey legend Ovechkin added to Ukrainian “kill list”

The war in Ukraine

Published 11 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Alexander Ovechkin is an outspoken supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
2 minute read

Russian hockey legend Alexander Ovechkin, who recently became the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer, has been added to Ukraine’s notorious “enemy list” on the website Mirotvorets (Peacemaker).

Mirotvorets is a database that publishes personal information about individuals who allegedly threaten Ukraine’s security, but has been condemned by human rights groups and described as a “kill list”, as several people listed there have been assassinated or died under unclear circumstances shortly after.

According to Mirotvorets, Washington Capitals star Ovechkin has been included for allegedly working to “whitewash Russia’s reputation” in front of the international community through his participation in international sporting events, as well as for justifying “aggression against Ukraine among foreign audiences”.

The 39-year-old forward is also accused of “deliberately violating” Ukraine’s border, which likely refers to his vacation on the Crimean Peninsula in 2015 – a year after the region voted in a referendum to reunite with Russia.

It is now easier to find people who are not included on the Mirotvorets database, so there is really nothing to discuss, commented Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Founded “Putin Team”

Russian MP and 2006 Olympic gold medalist in speed skating Svetlana Zhurova expressed surprise on the news channel VseProSport that Ovechkin’s name was only added now.

– It is strange that they did not add Ovechkin to the Mirotvorets database earlier. Alex created the Putin Team (movement in support of Vladimir Putin’s candidacy in the 2018 presidential election in Russia), and for that alone he should have already been on the list.

Zhurova added that she does not believe the listing will have any major consequences for Ovechkin:

– He will not face any restrictions in his daily life or experience problems with entering the US, where he plays for the NHL team Washington Capitals.

Linked to several assassinations

In April, Ovechkin scored his 895th goal in the NHL regular season, surpassing Wayne Gretzky’s previous record of 894 goals. Since then, he has added to his tally and now stands at 897 goals.

Ovechkin’s contract with the Washington Capitals runs until the summer of 2026. Earlier this year, he mentioned that he was considering returning to Russian club Dynamo Moscow, where his professional career began.

The website Mirotvorets has been described by critics as a “kill list”,  as several people who have appeared on it have later been murdered. Yulia Gorbunova, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, warns that the list poses a real threat to the lives of those on it. In April 2015, for example, the website published the home addresses of Ukrainian writer Oles Buzina and former member of parliament Oleg Kalashnikov – just days before both were killed in separate attacks.

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