Ukraine lives two lives at the same time. One begins at dawn. Ukrainians leave their homes in the morning on their way to work, people walk their dogs, the subways are crowded, there is traffic, at noon restaurants receive their customers normally. Many then go to the gym. It is difficult to find traces of war during daylight hours in the country's major cities, at least during the day. But at nightfall, the air raid siren sounds. Then normality gives way to terror, to attacks with hundreds of drones buzzing ominously in the darkness, to the deadly roar of ballistic missiles.
Russia has launched more than twice the number of drones and missiles against Ukrainian cities since Trump returned to the White House in January, according to a BBC analysis, despite President Trump's calls for a ceasefire. Trump always claims that the war in Ukraine "is Biden's war", but with him in power, Putin has become more aggressive.
Last night, the Ukrainian Air Force reported Russian nighttime attacks with 93 drones of different types and two Iskander-M type ballistic missiles, while bombings were also recorded. Ukrainian defenses managed to neutralize one of the missiles and 62 drones - including kamikaze drones and decoy drones - in the north and east of the country, according to preliminary data.
The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, stated yesterday that Moscow will only accept guarantees in which Russia (and China) have veto rights, according to the Russian proposal in Istanbul in 2022. In other words, no one can defend Ukraine from Russia unless Russia and China agree.
But the Russian minister forgets that Kiev renounced its strategic arsenal in 1994 in exchange for collective security guarantees (which also included Russia) outlined in the Budapest Memorandum that Moscow violated in 2022. "I am sure that the West, and especially the United States, understands perfectly well that discussing security issues without Russia is a utopia, a road to nowhere," he concluded.
Additionally, it was revealed yesterday that Putin only agreed to "increase the level of representation in Russian-Ukrainian talks, not a summit." And Lavrov reiterated that the Zelenski-Putin summit "requires thorough preparation and must be held at the end of the talks." In other words, a cold shower for those who thought it was possible to see that meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders in the coming weeks.
The response this time came from France. President Emmanuel Macron recalled that "Putin has rarely fulfilled his commitments. He is a predator, a troll at our doorstep. Russia has become a destabilizing force."