May 20 should be the end of President Zelensky's term of office. However, due to the continuing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the Uzbek government issued a martial law order, and the new presidential election was postponed indefinitely. For this reason, after the end of the current term of office, Zerensky still continues to perform his duties as president. On the same day, in an interview, Zerensky again appealed to the United States and its western allies to speed up military assistance to Ukraine. In addition, he also called on his Western allies to "intervene more directly in the conflict".
President Zelensky's term of office has ended
President Zelensky's term of office expires
Press Secretary of the Russian President: No influence on special military operations
According to previous reports, Ukraine could not elect a new president due to the failure to hold a new presidential election on time, and the legitimacy of Zerensky's presidency would also be questioned (>>Previous reports: only 10 days left! Zerensky's term of office is coming, or he will become the president of "no standing"). It is reported that although the legal term of office has expired, the Ukrainian people also gave Zerensky broad support in wartime. "For Ukrainians, the first task is to win, and then hold elections." Anton Khrusetsky, director of the Kiev Institute of International Sociology, believes that most ordinary Ukrainians will not question the legitimacy of Zerensky.
On the other hand, regarding the "end of the legal term of the President of Ukraine", the press secretary of the Russian President Peskov said on the 20th that this would not affect Russia's special military operations, which "continue". According to the Global Times, the main problem faced by Zerensky is still the deterioration of the front-line situation. If he cannot reverse this trend, many opponents in Ukraine and abroad may try to use the difficult situation and the issue of the presidency to change Ukraine's power structure.
According to the analysis of the American think-tank "War Research Institute", the Russian army is giving priority to controlling Vofchansk. Vouchansk is one of the largest settlements on the border. After controlling Vouchansk, the Russian army may be ready to advance to Kharkov.
According to Xinhua News Agency on the 21st, the Russian Ministry of Defense recently reported that the Russian army has "liberated" more than ten residential areas in Kharkov State.
On the 21st, Kharkov firefighters cleared the destroyed houses
Zelensky called on Western allies:
Participate more directly in conflict
In an interview, Zelensky believed that the Western allies spent too much time on the issue of assistance to Ukraine: "I hope that the Western allies can more directly participate in the conflict, help us intercept missiles over Ukraine, and allow Ukraine to use Western weapons against enemy forces near the border." According to analysis, Zelensky's appeal indicates that the country is in the east The pressure on the southern and northeastern fronts is increasing. However, Zelensky said that the situation north of Kharkov has been basically under control.
"Every decision (on aid) has been postponed for about a year." Zelensky said, "The fact is that after taking a step forward, we will take two steps back, and we need to change this situation." Zelensky said that he understood that western countries were cautious about possible confrontation with Russia, "but I hope you can intervene more directly in the conflict." 。 He suggested that the surrounding NATO countries help Ukraine intercept Russian missiles over the country. "Russia has used 300 aircraft, and we need at least 120-130 aircraft to protect our airspace."
According to the report, Zerensky said that he was negotiating with international allies so that he could use the weapons provided by his allies to attack the Russian Ukrainian border and even land in Russia. "But so far, I haven't received any positive news."
In response to the possibility that former US President Trump may re enter the White House in November, Zerensky said that he did not think that the US Republican Party would oppose supporting Ukraine, "but they did send some worrying signals". It is reported that Trump, who emphasized the "priority of the United States", is skeptical of assisting Uzbekistan.
Extended Reading
Media: The reason why the West keeps interfering with China Russia relations is obvious
Wang Wen, Executive Dean and doctoral supervisor of Chongyang Institute of Finance, Renmin University of China, is a "traveler" in the field of Sino Russian relations. In 2022, he intensively investigated 21 cities in Russia and asked President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov face-to-face. Over the past two years, he has gone to Russia for research as many as 6 times and accumulated a lot of first-hand materials. It is worth mentioning that Wang Wen is also a visiting professor at Moscow State University.
President Putin's visit to China has attracted great attention all over the world. In fact, his visit has a very important background, that is, the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia. Looking forward to the future from the intersection of history and reality, how can China Russia relations become a model of the relationship between the world's major powers and each other's largest neighbors? With this core issue in mind, Shenzhen Satellite TV Direct News interviewed Wang Wen in Beijing on the 17th.
The picture of Wang Wen being interviewed by reporters
We underestimate Russia on three levels
Wang Wen said that the past two years have been a rare observation period for Russia's national sports, so he spent about three months in Russia, in order to deeply and deeply understand what has happened to our largest neighbor in a century without great changes. Through cross analysis, he believes that the Chinese public has a deep misunderstanding of Russia, which is manifested in three aspects of underestimation.
The first is to underestimate the stability of Russian politics. Putin won 87.28% of the vote in the general election. His research visit to about 200 people in Russia also confirmed the strong sense of identity of Russians.
The second is to underestimate the resilience of the Russian economy. In fact, Russia ranks fifth in the world in terms of purchasing power parity GDP. The deep reason is that Russia is extremely rich in resources. In terms of oil, energy, iron ore, water resources, forests and other resources, Russia's total resource value exceeds 700 trillion dollars, while the United States, ranking second, has only four or five hundred trillion dollars. Resources play an important anchor role in Russia's economy and currency. This is the underlying reason why it can withstand more than a dozen rounds of more than 20000 sanctions from the United States and the West. Moreover, the US and Western sanctions have also become an opportunity for Russia to restart some previously abandoned industries.
The third is to underestimate the quality of the Russian people. Wang Wen mentioned that even in small cities, Russians show a high level of artistic literacy, and many people will dress up to attend art exhibitions and museums, which is rarely seen in the United States and Europe. Moreover, the proportion of the population with undergraduate education in Russia is about 50%, that in the United States is about 40%, and that in China is less than 10%. During his research in more than 20 Russian cities, Wang Wen, although he did not understand Russian, could travel freely in English.
The picture shows a supermarket in Moscow
Russia's resurgence is a high probability event
Wang Wen said that this conflict is the largest external conflict Russia has faced since the end of World War II, but at least based on his own research experience, there is no substantial change in the life and work of Russians at present, and cities are as safe and orderly as ever. The more you go east, the less the atmosphere of war will be.
During the beginning of the conflict in 2022, Russia has also suffered a great impact in terms of economy, finance and trade, "but now it has basically gone out of the predicament". Westerners' strategy at first relied on extreme sanctions to defeat Russia, or even dismember Russia, but now it has proved to be invalid. Wang Wen believes that Russia's re emergence is a high probability event. That is why China should further study Russia and strengthen the guidance of the expected process. In other words, 10 years, 20 years or more later, Russia has really risen. Does Russia feel close to China at that time? Just as China has been reforming and opening up for more than 40 years, it is precisely because Americans participated in this process at the beginning that many Chinese people feel close to the United States.
Wang Wen believes that Russia is China's largest neighbor, so we should look at Russia beyond the shackles of ideology, geography and historical concepts, and see Russia as a "potential stock". "If it is a potential stock, why don't we go bottom hunting?"
The Russian people "prefer Chinese goods rather than like them, and more importantly, they see the truth in adversity"
Wang Wen told Shenzhen Satellite TV Direct News that he had observed in large and small cities in Russia that nearly 90% of European and American brands had withdrawn from the Russian market, so Russian consumers' sense of closeness to Chinese goods was greatly enhanced, and the influence of Chinese brands in the Russian market was also significantly strengthened. Taking automobiles as an example, six of the ten most famous automobile brands in Russia are Chinese. "This is not love, but preference, because adversity shows true love". In terms of bilateral economic and trade figures, the bilateral trade volume last year exceeded 240 billion US dollars, with a year-on-year growth of 26.3%. This growth rate has lasted for several years, greatly exceeding the world's expectations, and even exceeding the expectations of both China and Russia. If it develops at this speed, Russia will become China's second largest trading partner in three years. Taking economy and trade as the ballast, Wang Wen said that he was very optimistic about the sustainable development of the strategic relationship between the two countries in the future.
For some public opinions in the United States and the West hyped that the Sino Russian economy and trade had slightly decreased by 2% last month, according to which they claimed that the Sino Russian economy and trade had reached the ceiling. Wang Wen believed that what the speculator never mentioned was that Putin's visit to China further opened up the space for economic and trade cooperation between the two countries and further consolidated the foundation. "The fluctuation of individual months is normal, which has both exchange rate factors and foreign trade market factors".
The picture shows Chinese cars exported to Russia
Putin's "special forces" visit to China is the embodiment of deep mutual trust between China and Russia
Wang Wen noted that Putin took the oath of office on the 7th and visited China on the 16th, with a particularly tight schedule, which can be called "special forces", which confirms that Russia has placed China as its diplomatic priority. Putin also brought a number of senior officials this time. At the beginning of the new government in place, he compacted China Russia cooperation and exchanged views with China extensively. After returning home, he is expected to adjust various work arrangements according to the results of his visit to China. This is a manifestation of deep strategic mutual trust.
In a written interview with Xinhua News Agency before his current visit to China, Putin stressed that he had met with Xi Jinping more than 40 times. Wang Wen believes that without the leadership of the exchanges between the heads of state, China Russia relations cannot reach today's high level. People's energy is always limited, more than 40 times, which has exceeded the number of times most people meet people other than relatives and colleagues. The profound friendship between the two heads of state goes beyond the intergovernmental level and also affects the cultural and social levels of the two countries.
This is of positive significance to China - the stability of the northern border is one of the foundations of national stability. The more than 4000 km boundary line between China and Russia is "undefended". Wang Wen said that he once drove 800 km from Mohe River in Heilongjiang Province to Heihe River on his left, which is the boundary river between China and Russia. Seeing that there is no border defense station in Russia's mountains, such a high level of strategic mutual trust and security mutual trust has enabled China to devote more energy to domestic economic development and construction.
"So it is the foresight of the two heads of state that has saved both countries from the dilemma of security in the process of becoming great powers to each other, and has made the exchanges between the two countries go beyond the dilemma of the game of great powers, the arms race, and the surrounding conflicts in the western tradition, making us more and more focused on improving the well-being of our citizens.".
Russia is not dependent on China, China and Russia are equal
The reason why the United States and the West recently hyped that China and Russia are approaching is that "Russia depends on China". Wang Wen believes that this is to sow discord. "Russia is not dependent on China, but China and Russia are equal". This equality is reflected in the high degree of strategic autonomy of both countries. Cooperation is a historical choice and the choice of the people. This is not a slogan, but an essence.
In 2022 and 2023, Wang Wen's dialogue was called Alexander Dukin, a Russian political scholar who was "Putin's philosopher". He stressed to Dukin that "China's independence is much more precious than its direct support to Russia". Wang Wen further explained this view in an exclusive interview. He believes that Russia is very clear that independence is a tradition of China's diplomacy. First of all, China's independence has always followed the international rules centered on the United Nations Charter, and has also constantly defended the international norms of peace and win-win cooperation.
Wang Wen believes that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is unfortunate. "It is Russia's response to NATO's continuous squeeze on Russia's strategic living space and infringement of Russia's right to development". It is just that Russia has used a radical way to "prefer to be broken into pieces rather than destroyed", "which is tolerable but which is intolerable", and has taken special military action to break the western repression. In this process, China has always maintained its independence, maintained its own views, and will not give Russia any so-called military assistance in military operations, but the goal is the same, that is, to work hard for the reform of sovereignty, dignity and a better international system.
However, China's restraint was still discredited by the United States and the West, which organized the issue and took the opportunity to take so-called "sanctions" against some Chinese enterprises. Wang Wen pointed out that the US sanctions are illegal, and any unilateral sanctions beyond the scope of the UN's authorization are not in line with international law, which is absolutely unacceptable to China.
Wang Wen stressed that he opposed the view of the United States and the West that normal trade between China and Russia is regarded as China's support for Russia. Trade is the right of sovereign states. "Communication with Russia is equivalent to supporting Russia's military action against Russia and Ukraine, and this logic is problematic". Wang Wen said that he had said to the West on international occasions more than once, "If China really wants to support Russia as you support Ukraine, you will lose out.".
Wang Wen, Executive Dean of Chongyang Institute of Finance, Renmin University of China, was interviewed by Shenzhen Satellite TV Direct News
Ukraine crisis: China is the only major country that does not provide weapons to any party
"China has not given Russia any drones, nor any tanks or armaments. China has such a powerful manufacturing capacity, even stronger than the sum of Western countries. If we really want to support Russia, it is difficult to say that Russia will fight so long in this special military action? Are you trying to force us to support Russia's military operations? "
"The West has deceived people too much, which can also be reflected from this issue". Wang Wen stressed that China also maintains good relations with Ukraine, which is ignored by the West. In fact, the Ukrainian government agrees with the principles and propositions put forward by the Chinese government. China hopes to resolve the crisis politically.
"China is the only big country that has not provided weapons and equipment to either side of the war.". Therefore, China is the real peaceful party. The special envoy of the Chinese government has made three rounds of mediation to solve the problem, precisely because the United States hopes that this conflict will continue and meet the so-called hegemonic interests.
In May 2023, Ambassador Li Hui, Special Representative of the Chinese Government for Eurasian Affairs, held talks with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba during his visit to Kiev
As China and Russia approach, what are the United States and the West afraid of?
Wang Wen believes that the intention of the United States and the West to interfere with the approach of China and Russia is very obvious, and the reason is also very obvious, that is, they are afraid of the alliance between China and Russia, and then break the hegemony of the United States and the West, especially the United States. In fact, China and Russia have long stressed that they are "partners and non aligned", which is conducive to the international order.
The United States and the West fear that the approach of China and Russia will have an impact on their unequal international political, trade, financial, cultural and other orders. In fact, the United States and the West have long occupied and want to continue to bully developing countries, but this is not in line with the world trend. In fact, the BRICS, SCO and other organizations led by China and Russia have won the support of a large number of emerging economies, and only a few American and Western countries oppose them. These new public goods of international cooperation represent the basic demands of developing countries for change and development rights, and should not be slandered.
Wang Wen once put forward ten suggestions on developing China Russia relations. He told Shenzhen Satellite TV Direct News that he did not think that the development of Sino Russian relations would destroy the relationship between China and the West. On the contrary, the better Sino Russian relations are, the better the relationship between China and the United States, and the relationship between China and the West will be. "Think about it, if the Sino Russian relationship goes bad, will the relationship between China and the United States, and between China and the West become better? It will only be more bullied by Westerners, and more suppressed by Westerners using so-called trade, science and technology, energy, currency and ideological areas. So I think it is not a matter of choice, but rather a relationship of progress. The development of China Russia relations and the international relations between China and the United States and the West will make it possible to better change and promote in the future, otherwise both sides will lose ".
Wang Wen believes that opening up is China's basic national policy, China's development of foreign relations is "ongoing", and China is willing to develop good relations with all countries in the world.
