The Russian invasion of Ukraine which started on 24 February 2022 has taken a major turn with thousands of casualties on both sides. It’s been three weeks since the war first started yet no outcome can be drawn. Civilians continue to pay the highest prices in the war. Russian troops have attacked several places in Ukraine, besieging five cities Chernihiv, Sumy, Konotop, Kharkiv, and Mariupol. Despite all storming attacks, Russian forces have failed to tear down Ukraine’s military.
A meeting between Ukraine and Russia’s foreign ministers on Thursday in Turkey failed and brings no pause to the war. The talks between Lavrov and Kuleba lasted just one and a half hours. In the meeting, Russia’s foreign minister denied that Russian forces have attacked a children’s hospital targeting thousands of civilians on Wednesday.
In between all the chaos, Russian President, Vladimir Putin said on Friday that he wanted to allow volunteers to fight against Ukrainian forces. These volunteers along with the Russian forces may enter Ukraine from the middle east parts of the country. Apart from this, Russia is also planning to send the armed forces fighting against Islamic State in Syria. President Putin also approved handing over captured Western missile systems to Russian -backed rebel fighters. Sergei Shoigu, Russian Defence Minister also proposed to hand over American-made anti-tank systems to rebel fighters. Putin at a Russian security council meeting shows his support for the idea. He also permitted the volunteers who wanted to fight with Russian-backed forces. Many civilians from the Middle East are ready to come to fight, Shoigu mentioned.
While Ukraine is settled for a peaceful way to fight this war, it would defend itself in the event of an escalation, mentioned Ukraine’s ambassador, Sergiy Kyslytsya in one of his statements. He said that the Russian Federation has two choices: “either to back off or experience a critical response by the international community”.