As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was ushered in front of the press by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels on Wednesday, his smile quickly faded and his look turned somber. It was Zelensky\u2019s first time at the alliance\u2019s headquarters in the Belgian capital since the beginning of Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. <\/p>\n
On this occasion, however, the Ukrainian president was forced to address a crisis currently drawing more attention than Moscow\u2019s invasion of his country: the brutal attack by Hamas on Israel. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are in the war, we understand what it means (to suffer) a terrorist attack,\u201d Zelensky told journalists, putting Russia and Hamas in the same basket. <\/p>\n
\u201cI remember the first days of the war\u2026 so many dying people, so many deaths, it was very important not to be alone,\u201d Zelensky added. \u201cSo my recommendation for the (NATO) leaders is that they go to Israel, and support the people.\u201d <\/p>\n
Zelensky\u2019s visit to Brussels coincided with the latest gathering of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a bloc of 54 countries who are providing military support to Kyiv. It was the first time the Ukrainian president had attended the meeting in person, underscoring how pressing it is for Kyiv to keep supplies flowing in. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s now several months into a slow advancing summer counteroffensive that will likely continue into the winter \u2014 a time of year Russia has tried to exploit in the past by targeting energy facilities and using the cold in an attempt to force Ukrainians into submission. <\/p>\n
This is a critical moment for Ukraine, especially as international fatigue starts to set in and the world\u2019s attention shifts to the Middle East. <\/p>\n
Hamas\u2019 surprise attack on Israel Saturday sent shockwaves around the globe \u2014 its impact felt all the way in eastern Ukraine. <\/p>\n
An uncomfortable silence seemed to have taken hold in the Donbas on Saturday morning. After the deadly missile strike on the village of Hroza last Thursday, which decimated a fifth of its population, this could\u2019ve been just an expected lull in this war, but something felt different. <\/p>\n
According to Ukraine\u2019s General Staff, clashes between Russian and Ukrainian forces were still ongoing on Saturday and Sunday, but the constant artillery barrages and the contrails from multiple rocket launch systems were absent. The usual reports of shelling along the front line also seemed muffled, unable to break through. <\/p>\n
For the first time since the war had begun, more than a year and a half ago, little to no attention was being afforded to Ukraine. <\/p>\n
\u201cThese days, our attention is focused on the Middle East,\u201d Zelensky told the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in a video address on Monday. \u201cNo one can ever forget what the terrorists did in Israel,\u201d he added, his words a graceful yet difficult acknowledgement that Ukraine was not dominating headlines. <\/p>\n
In his nightly address Monday, posted on social media, Zelensky also suggested Moscow saw an advantage in the Israel-Gaza war. \u201cRussia is interested in triggering a war in the Middle East, so that a new source of pain and suffering could undermine world unity, increase discord and contradictions, and thus help Russia destroy freedom in Europe,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
But if Ukraine had already been left somewhat nervous by recent events in Washington \u2014 with Republicans refusing to include funding for the war-torn country in a 45-day short term spending bill to avert a government shutdown \u2014 the United States\u2019 sudden focus on Israel has only fueled fears American aid could slow down soon. <\/p>\n
After the funding bill was passed, US President Joe Biden tried to reassure leaders in Kyiv, vowing military aid for Ukraine would continue. The White House also said Biden would make a speech specifically addressing those concerns \u2014 those remarks have now been shelved in light of the situation in Israel. <\/p>\n
Ukraine, however, has since clawed back some attention, reminding the world of Russia\u2019s war crimes in places like Bucha, a town northwest of Kyiv which it occupied early in the invasion, and equating its forces\u2019 brutality with the atrocities committed by Hamas. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Israelis themselves \u2014 Israeli journalists who were here in Ukraine, who were in Bucha, are now saying that they saw the same evil where Russia came,\u201d Zelensky told NATO lawmakers. \u201cThe same evil, and the only difference is that there is a terrorist organization that attacked Israel, and here is a terrorist state that attacked Ukraine.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cThe intentions declared are different, but the essence is the same,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n
Russia has denied any involvement in the mass killings in Bucha, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. <\/p>\n
Zelensky delivered a similar message to the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, led by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, on Wednesday. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are in a special situation on the front line, where it is important to put pressure, and without any pauses \u2014 it\u2019s very important, without any pauses,\u201d Zelensky explained as he thanked allies for their continued support. <\/p>\n
The Ukrainian president acknowledged Russia was putting up some stiff resistance to Kyiv\u2019s counteroffensive but said his country remained on the offensive. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is still Ukraine, it is still our soldiers who determine the course of events,\u201d he said. But Ukrainian men and women are just one variable in this war\u2019s complicated equation. <\/p>\n
On the front lines in both the east and south, as well as in offices in Kyiv, Ukrainians know that Western support, especially from the United States, remains key. <\/p>\n
\u201cTerrorists like Putin, or like Hamas, seek to hold free and democratic nations as hostages and they want power over those who seek freedom,\u201d Zelensky said. \u201cThe terrorists will not change, they just must lose. And that means we must win, it requires patience, it requires steady and continuous support.\u201d <\/p>\n
Austin said that support would continue \u201cfor the long haul,\u201d announcing another $200 million military aid package for Ukraine. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re here to dig deep for Ukraine\u2019s most urgent needs, especially for air defense and ammunition,\u201d the US defense secretary insisted. \u201cWe\u2019re here to deliver what it takes, for as long as it takes so that Ukraine can live in freedom.\u201d <\/p>\n
That freedom may be increasingly costly for US taxpayers, especially as Israel calls on Washington for additional military support ahead of an expected ground offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. <\/p>\n
Despite Austin\u2019s vow of support for Ukraine, the new package was one of the smallest provided by the United States. While the issue remains contentious in Congress, and with the conflict in Israel only likely to demand more resources, it may yet dwindle further. <\/p>\n\n
As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was ushered in front of the press by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels on Wednesday, his smile quickly faded and his look turned somber. It was Zelensky\u2019s first time at the alliance\u2019s headquarters in the Belgian capital since the beginning of Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On this <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":9998,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9997","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9997\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}