Zelenskyy rejects the possibility of a Ukrainian ceasefire despite Putin's openness as grain supply issues threaten global food shortages



This weekend, the leaders of France and Germany pleaded with Russian President Vladimir Putin for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine to no avail as Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy each refused to make concessions to their counterparts and end the fighting in the eastern regions of Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz pleaded with Putin to begin “serious direct negotiations” with Zelenskyy to reach a “diplomatic solution to the conflict,” the New York Post reported.

In response, Putin said that the West is complicit in perpetuating the violence because of its “dangerous” efforts to supply Ukraine with munitions, military equipment, and financial support. Putin warned Macron and Scholz that the West’s continued support for Ukraine risks “aggravation of the humanitarian crisis.”

Scholz and Macron also sought the release of 2,500 prisoners of war captured by Russian forces and an end to the Russian blockade of the port of Odessa. Ending the blockade of this port is crucial to normalizing global agricultural supply chains as it normally handles millions of tons of grain each year.

Despite Putin’s insistence of “the openness of the Russian side to the resumption of dialogue” with Ukraine, the Russian president moved forward with efforts to expand the size of his military and signed new legislation that will eliminate the upper age limit of the men recruited by the Russian military.

The new law passed the Russian Duma on Wednesday and will allow Russian citizens over the age of 40 to enlist. It also removes restrictions that previously limited the Kremlin’s hiring of foreign mercenary fighters.

Zelenskyy, who spoke with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently, said that the ongoing invasion of Ukraine could cause a global food crisis.

Zelenskyy said, “We must work together to prevent a food crisis and unblock [Ukrainian] ports.”

Nearly 22 million tons of grains are stranded in Ukraine as Russian forces continue to blockade Odessa and other ports, Zelenskyy confirmed.

As fighting continues in the Donbas region of Ukraine, where Russia has claimed victory over Ukrainian cities and continues to advance forces throughout the region, Zelenskyy refused to accept any possible ceasefire that would forefit lands previsouly belonging to Ukraine. Echoing previous statements, Zelenskyy promised that Donbas would be “Ukrainian again.”

Zelenskyy said, “We have to increase our defense, increase our resistance, and Donbas will be Ukrainian again. Even if Russia will bring all suffering and ruination to Donbas, we will rebuild every town, every community. There’s no real alternative.”

Ukrainian leaders rule out a ceasefire and will not cede territory to Russia to end fighting



Ukrainian leadership has ruled out the possibility of a ceasefire or granting any concessions of land or policy to Russia.

The decision not to grant either a ceasefire or concessions to end Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine came as Russian forces intensified their attack in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine, and the Russian government decided to stop exports of gas to Finland, the New York Post reported.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, “The situation in Donbas is extremely difficult.” He made clear to his constituents that while the Russian army is trying to take the cities of Sloviansk and Sievierodonetsk, Ukrainian forces will dig in and work to hold off the Russian advance.

Russian forces were able to outlast the weekslong resistance by Ukrainian fighters in the southeastern city of Mariupol. Whoever controls Mariupol has strategic access to crucial waterways.

With full control of Mariupol, Russia will also have command of land routes linking the Crimean Peninsula with mainland Russia and other areas of eastern Ukraine that are of interest to the Russian government.

Russian forces are now waging a major offensive in Luhansk in the Donbas region. Russian-backed separatists already controlled large swathes of territory in Luhansk and the neighboring Donetsk. Reportedly, the Russian government wants to seize the last remaining Ukrainian-controlled territories in Donbas and forcibly annex the region.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelenskyy, ruled out the possibility of Ukrainian officials agreeing to a ceasefire with Russia and said that the Ukrainian government would not accept any deal with Russia that involves the transfer of territory. Podolyak theorized that making any concessions to Russia would result in Russia renewing attacks on Ukraine shortly after the fighting breaks.

In a recent interview, Podolyak said, “The war will not stop (after concessions). It will just be put on pause for some time. They’ll start a new offensive, even more bloody and large-scale.”

Podolyak’s statements contradict calls for a ceasefire made by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.

Heightening tensions with Western nations, Russia’s state-owned gas company said it would be halting all gas exports to Finland in response to the Finns refusing to pay for Russian oil with rubles.

Last Wednesday, Finland and Sweden applied for membership in the NATO military alliance which will likely exacerbate Russian frustrations.

The Chinese government is accelerating the build-up of its nuclear arsenal as tensions with the US rise



People familiar with the thought process of China’s leadership say that the Chinese government has begun to accelerate the development of its nuclear arsenal after reassessing the threat posed to mainland China by the United States.

The Wallstreet Journal said that China’s nuclear effort “long predates Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but the U.S.’s wariness about getting directly involved in the war there has likely reinforced Beijing’s decision to put greater emphasis on developing nuclear weapons as a deterrent.”

It is believed that Chinese leaders see a stronger nuclear arsenal as a way to deter the U.S. from involving itself in a potential future conflict over Taiwan.

The Chinese government has also accelerated work on more than 100 suspected missile silos that could be used to store nuclear-tipped missiles in remote western regions of China.

American officials and independent security analysts who study nuclear proliferation say they are unsure about what is motivating Beijing’s race to develop its nuclear arsenal.

The Wallstreet Journal reported that the “people close to the Chinese leadership said China’s increased focus on nuclear weapons is also driven by fears Washington might seek to topple Beijing’s Communist government” as American foreign policy becomes more hawkish towards China.

American military officials and security analysts worry that China rapidly accelerating the development of its nuclear arsenal could embolden the Chinese Communist Party to launch a surprise nuclear strike.

Reportedly, the Chinese government plans to maintain an arsenal “no larger than necessary to ensure China’s security interests.”

A person close to the leadership of China suggested that another reason Chinese leadership is rushing to strengthen its nuclear arsenal is so that the U.S. can’t push them around on the geopolitical stage. The person said, “China’s inferior nuclear capability could only lead to growing U.S. pressure on China.”

This past year, the American security apparatus was caught entirely off guard as the Chinese government launched a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile into space that circled the earth before sailing towards its target on the planet’s surface.

An unnamed U.S. official said, “We have no idea how [China] did this.”

People familiar with the thinking of Chinese leadership have said that it is unlikely that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine has had an impact on the Chinese government’s nuclear acceleration despite the lingering threat of Putin using a nuclear weapon against Ukraine causing immense anxiety within the international community.

The Pentagon estimates that China will have 1,000 nuclear warheads by the end of this decade.

Zelenskyy says he will continue pursuing peace despite atrocities committed by Russian forces



Despite the potential war crimes carried out by the Russian military on the people of Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he would continue to push for peace.

The New York Post reported that Zelenskyy said, “No one wants to negotiate with a person or people who tortured this nation. It’s all understandable. And as a man, as a father, I understand this very well.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been intensely condemned for possible war crimes carried out by the Russian military that were uncovered as its forces withdrew from the areas around Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv.

As they regained ground in the areas surrounding Kyiv, Ukrainian forces uncovered mass graves filled with civilians in the suburbs surrounding the city. They also found surface streets littered with the corpses of civilians.

Many of the slaughtered civilians bore marks of torture and execution. Civilian bodies were found with their hands tied behind their backs, and many had seemingly fatal gunshot wounds at the base of their skulls.

Russian forces have also bombed civilian gathering places such as train stations and medical facilities.

Zelenskyy said, “We don’t want to lose opportunities, if we have them, for a diplomatic solution.”

He added, “We have to fight, but fight for life. You can’t fight for dust when there is nothing and no people. That’s why it is important to stop this war.”

The Russian forces that withdrew from Kyiv are currently believed to be regathering in preparation for an attack on Donbas in Ukraine’s eastern region.

Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian forces currently fighting their Russian counterparts in the eastern regions of Ukraine are in “the heart of the war.”

He said, “It’s beating. We’re fighting. We’re strong. And if it stops beating, we will be in a weaker position.”

Zelenskyy is reportedly frustrated with the lack of military equipment being supplied to Ukraine by the U.S. and its allies in Western Europe. He indicated that he was grateful for what had been done for his country but suggested that much more needed to be done by the wealthy nations allied with Ukraine.

He said, “Of course, it’s not enough,” when asked whether the supplies his country had been given up to this point was enough to turn the tide of the war in Ukraine’s favor.

Despite Zelenskyy’s insistence that he is actively working to make peace with his Russian adversaries, when presented with the opportunity to make peace in mid-March he rejected the offer.

Israeli leadership, serving as diplomatic emissaries, conveyed to Zelenskyy that if Ukraine were to alter its constitution in a way that permanently committed the country from joining NATO, recognized Crimea as Russian territory, and recognized Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states, then Russia would end its invasion of Ukraine.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson held in-person discussions with Zelenskyy where he committed to providing Ukraine with military supplies



The United Kingdom is going to send more than one hundred armored vehicles and new anti-ship missile systems to Ukraine as the Russian invasion drags on.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the arrangement on Saturday during an in-person visit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

On Saturday, both Johnson and his Austrian counterpart, Chancellor Karl Nehammer, made in-person visits to Zelenskyy. The two leaders are the latest in a list of political figures who have made in-person visits to Ukraine in the midst of the ongoing Russian invasion.

The Ukrainian Embassy to the United Kingdom posted a picture of Johnson and Zelenskyy seated opposite one another at a table with the caption, “Surprise,” followed by a winking face emoji.

Surprise pic.twitter.com/AWa5RjYosD
— Embassy of Ukraine to the UK (@Embassy of Ukraine to the UK) 1649512581

CNN reported that The Press Service of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine said on its official Twitter account that Zelenskyy and Johnson engaged in diplomatic discussions in Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv.

On his Twitter account, Johnson said, “The Ukrainians have the courage of a lion. President [Zelenskyy] has given the roar of that lion. The UK stands unwaveringly with the people of Ukraine.”

The Ukrainians have the courage of a lion.\n\nPresident @ZelenskyyUa has given the roar of that lion.\n\nThe UK stands unwaveringly with the people of Ukraine.\n\nSlava Ukraini pic.twitter.com/u6vGYqmK4V
— Boris Johnson (@Boris Johnson) 1649533143

At the time of writing, this tweet is pinned to top of Johnson’s Twitter page.

In an official statement as Prime Minister, Johnson said, “Ukraine has defied the odds and pushed back Russian forces from the gates of Kyiv, achieving the greatest feat of arms of the 21st century.”

Johnson also praised his Ukrainian counterpart’s "resolute leadership" and the “invincible heroism and courage of the Ukrainian people.” He said that the UK “stands unwaveringly with them in this ongoing fight” and that “[the British] are in it for the long run.”

Acknowledging Johnson’s steadfast support of Ukraine, Zelenskyy said, “Boris was among those who didn’t doubt for a minute whether to support Ukraine. The leadership of Great Britain in providing our country help in defense, and also leadership in sanctions policy, will always be in history.”

He added, “Ukraine will always be grateful for this to Boris and Britain.”

During a press conference, Johnson said that the United Kingdom will continue to leverage sanctions against Russia and that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has dealt a “crushing blow” to his reputation and to the global standing of the Russian government.

During a subsequent press conference, Johnson said, “We will influence Russia’s ability to use its energy sources. The war determines the vision of Ukraine’s future, so our partners and I will supply Ukraine with equipment, technology, intelligence so that Ukraine never faces the horrors of invasion and blackmail.”

The first all-civilian crew of astronauts has docked with the International Space Station



The world's first fully private space crew has docked with the International Space Station.

On Friday morning, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket containing a Dragon capsule launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday morning "without any major hiccups," Engadget reported.

Reportedly the crew's flight to the ISS took around 20 hours and experienced a brief delay in the docking sequence due to a video routing problem.

CBS News reported that the SpaceX rocket carried "a retired NASA astronaut and three wealthy civilians on the first non-government, fully commercial flight to the International Space Station – a trailblazing mission intended to help pave the way to a privately operated space lab."

The crew consisted of Michael Lopez-Algeria, commander and former NASA astronaut, and businessmen Larry Connor, Eytan Stibbe, and Mark Pathy.

The crew is expected to spend eight days on the space station where they will conduct science experiments along with "outreach and commercial activities." The crew is also expected to return scientific samples back to Earth for NASA to study.

The mission was conducted by Axiom Space, a company that is — according to its website — dedicated to "the full realization of low Earth orbit's possibilities."

Axiom Space "has been involved with every ISS mission since the program's inception" and hopes to make "the possibilities of Low Earth Orbit accessible to visionary governments, researchers, manufacturers, and individuals."

The company believes that "microgravity is the most promising environment for innovation and problem-solving since the Internet" and plans on "building the first commercial space station in our solar system starting in 2024."

This launch marked the sixth piloted flight of a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, is the "second fully commercial flight to orbit," a "d the "fi" st all-commercial visit to the International Space Station."

Over the past twenty years, eleven private astronauts have had the privilege to visit the International Space Station under commercial arrangements with Russia'Russia'sagency.

In recent weeks, the Russian government announced that it would no longer collaborate with Western nations on maintaining the International Space Station. Russian officials indicated that they would see to the completion of already ongoing projects and tasks but that the country will withdraw its support of the station so long as Western nations continue to sanction the Russian economy in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

Prior to pulling out of the International Space Station, Russian officials threatened to drop the station on the Western world by ceasing to provide it with resources for propulsion.

'This guy is brutal': Biden calls for Putin to be tried for war crimes



Russian President Vladimir Putin was met with intense Western condemnation on Monday, as President Joe Biden and his Western allies called for the Russian leader to stand trial for war crimes.

These alleged war crimes were discovered as Ukrainian forces worked to reclaim the areas around Kyiv from withdrawing Russian troops. The Los Angeles Times reported that Ukrainian forces found mass graves in the suburbs of Kyiv. Reportedly, these graves were filled with the corpses of civilians, and the suburban streets are also said to be littered with civilian corpses.

Many of the slaughtered civilians bore mark marks of torture and execution. Bodies were found with their hands tied behind them and seemingly fatal gunshot wounds at the base of their skulls.

“This guy is brutal,” Biden said. “What’s happening in Bucha is outrageous.”

The Ukrainian government said that it has counted more than 400 civilian deaths so far in the suburbs of Kyiv, including those in Bucha.

Biden’s rhetoric towards his Russian counterpart, Putin, has been intensifying as the conflict in Ukraine drags on.

In mid-March, Biden referred to Putin as a “war criminal” in remarks that the White House quickly disavowed, saying the statement reflected the president’s personal opinion and not formal U.S. policy.

About a week later, the U.S. government formally accused the Russian Federation of war crimes.

Toward the end of March, Biden referred to Putin as “a dictator bent on rebuilding an empire.”

Most notably, however, Biden at one point appeared to call for regime change in Russia.

“For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” the president said.

True to form, White House officials subsequently had to walk back Biden’s statements.

One official said that Biden “was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change” but was instead insisting that Putin “cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region.”

This past Monday, Biden said, “[Putin] is a war criminal, but we have to gather information, we have to continue to provide Ukraine with the weapons they need to continue to fight.”

His comments come as Russian forces continue to withdraw from Kyiv and the surrounding northern regions of Ukraine. However, this withdrawal is not a retreat, as Russian forces have continued to strike Ukraine’s southern coastal cities and move offensive operations into the country’s eastern region.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited parts of Ukraine’s recently vacated northern region and described the decimated residential areas as a “genocide.”

In a recent address to the Romanian parliament, Zelenskyy said, “Ordinary residents of an ordinary city near Kyiv. Their hands were tied behind their backs, they were shot in the back of the head or in the eye, killed just in the streets. Civilian vehicles were crushed by military equipment. Vehicles with people! They raped women and girls.”

Russia will cease collaborating on the International Space Station until Western sanctions are lifted



Russia announced on Saturday that it will stop collaborating with Western-led nations on the International Space Station (ISS) until these nations stop sanctioning Russia.

Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos wrote a lengthy thread on Twitter explaining the agency's decision to end its cooperation with the West, the Daily Mail reported.

In the thread, he said, "I believe that the restoration of normal relations between partners in the International Space Station and other joint projects is possible only with the complete and unconditional lifting of illegal sanctions."


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— \u0420\u041e\u0413\u041e\u0417\u0418\u041d (@\u0420\u041e\u0413\u041e\u0417\u0418\u041d) 1648884104

Rogozin went on to say in the thread that he will submit a timetable for the completion of projects currently in the works to the Kremlin.

Russia's decision to end collaborative efforts on the ISS comes after weeks of threatening to do so and delaying and outright canceling projects on the ISS in response to Western sanctions placed on the Russian economy and Russian oligarchs.

Previously, Rogozin suggested that the Roscosmos would stop collaborating with the West and allow the ISS to crash into the Earth.

He asked, "Who would save the ISS?"

This prompted Tesla CEO Elon Musk to offer the support of his spacefaring company SpaceX.

Historically, astronauts aboard the ISS return to Earth on the Russian Soyuz crafts. However, Elon Musk's SpaceX Crew Dragon has made four visits to the ISS since 2020 and is able to drop off and return astronauts aboard the station.

When asked if SpaceX would keep the ISS from falling onto the Earth, Musk replied: "Yes."

The United States supplies the ISS with life support technology while Russia provides it with propulsion, so without Musk stepping in to offer to keep the station afloat, Russia's threats to let it drop crash into the planet posed a tangible threat.

Rogozin previously said that Russia pulling out of the ISS would require either the US or one of its European allies to take on additional responsibilities for the station's maintenance. US officials, in the past, have said that it would be "very difficult" to operate the ISS independently.

Despite the ongoing and seemingly increasing diplomatic tensions between the US and Russia, the two countries were able to safely return three astronauts — two Russian, one American — to Earth from the ISS.

Ukrainian forces reclaim the region containing Kyiv as Russian forces withdraw and regroup



As of Saturday, the Ukrainian military has taken the entirety of the region containing the country’s capital city of Kyiv.

In a statement shared on Facebook, Hanna Maliar, the Ukrainian defense minister, said, “Irpin, Bucha, Gostomel, and the whole Kyiv region were liberated from the invader.”

The Daily Mail reported that the towns of Irpin and Bucha — from which people would previously commute to and from Kyiv — were reclaimed by Ukrainian forces earlier this week. Both towns have reportedly suffered high civilian death tolls and experienced large-scale destruction.

The mayor of Bucha said that 280 people had been buried in a mass grave while corpses littered the city’s streets, while at least 200 people have been killed in Irpin — which is often considered a suburb of Kyiv.

There was also heavy fighting in Gostomel as both Russian and Ukrainian forces sought to gain control of the region’s airfield.

Ukrainian officials have said that Russia’s current process of withdrawing from the northern parts of Ukraine is strategic so that the Russian military can refocus its forces on the country’s eastern and southern regions.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reportedly called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to congratulate Ukraine’s “brave armed forces” for successfully pushing back the invading Russian army.

Ukraine’s apparent victory at retaking Kyiv comes as broken-down Russian artillery litter the highways that connect the city to the rest of the country.

The Daily Mail said, “As Ukrainian units advance, they’re met with burned-out tanks and heavily-armored personnel transport vehicles that line the roads once populated by commuters that would have been heading in or out of the capital.”

Despite the off-putting nature of abundant worn-down and broken machinery, the Ukrainian military apparently continues to discover gruesome relics of war, potentially indicating that the Russians continued to commit war crimes as they withdrew from Kyiv.

Reportedly, Ukrainian troops found the bodies of 20 men dressed in civilian clothing on a single street. Eyewitnesses said that one of the corpses had his hands tied.

The dead bodies were strewn across roads of residential areas and suburban towns.

Zelenskkyy warned that the withdrawing Russian forces were leaving behind “catastrophic” situations by placing land mines outside of residential areas, abandoning their broken-down equipment, and the “bodies of those killed.”

The Ukrainian forces were also successful in retaking control of the infamous Chernobyl nuclear plant.

The Russian invasion has reportedly displaced 4 million Ukrainian refugees.

India and Russia working to launch a rupee-ruble trade agreement that circumvents Western sanctions and weakens the dollar's global standing



The government of India is expected to announce an agreement with its counterparts in Russia that will allow the countries to continue trading with one another while circumventing Western sanctions on Russia.

In a move that will surely shake up the global economy, the two countries are working on establishing a trade agreement that removes the U.S. dollar from the equation. CNBC reported that in order to continue conducting business with one another, India and Russia are going to implement a rupee-ruble trade mechanism.

This mechanism will eliminate the countries' reliance upon the SWIFT telecommunication network to conduct trade with each other, and it will provide them with an additional layer of security that prevents Western nations from meddling in their business affairs.

The rupee-ruble trade mechanism would also allow India to continue buying Russian energy exports when many global leaders have forbidden its import.

Dr. A Sakthivel, president of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations, said that the Indian government is working on a proposal to allow "four to five nationalized Indian banks" to be engaged directly in trade with Russia. He said that the country's central bank governor and the finance minister have been in conversations with the banks to get lay the groundwork for the rupee-ruble mechanism.

Sakthivel suggested that the Western sanctions placed on Russia provide Indian exporters with an opportunity to grow their presence in the Russian market.

He said, "Export to Russia is not much, only in agriculture and pharmacy products. Now that the whole of the West is banning Russia, there will be a lot of opportunities for Indian firms to enter Russia."

Despite making logistical sense, India's move runs the risk of angering Western nations with whom the South Asian country still does business.

The United States, for instance, is India's largest market for exports. According to official government data, in 2021, the United States bought $71 billion worth of goods from India.

Conversely, Russia imported a measly $3.3 billion worth of goods from India in the same year. Most of these purchases were pharmaceutical products and exotic regional beverages like coffee and tea.

Historically, India and Russia have had a close relationship, and in an era of heightened geopolitical tension, it is unlikely that the Indian government is going to stop importing 85% of its military equipment from Russia or Russia's close allies.

That said, India's official stance of neutrality on the Russian invasion of Ukraine has angered its Western allies, and strengthening its economic relationship with Russia runs the risk of eliciting Western retaliation.

Sakthivel said, "The government will take into account all the factors. The government is playing it very carefully."