The Kyiv Independent’s Chris York sat down with author, historian, and Russia’s Victory Day celebrations on May 9, which mark the Soviet Union’s role in defeating Nazi Germany in World War II, are one of the country’s biggest public events of the year. President of the Ukrainian Society of Switzerland Andrej Lushnycky who sheds some light on the things Putin would rather you didn’t know about World War II.
Washington’s involvement may also help mitigate political opposition in Europe, while giving the U.S. strategic visibility over future Russian energy flows, sources told Reuters.
The agreement, signed on April 30, establishes a joint investment fund between Kyiv and Washington and grants the U.S. special access to projects developing Ukraine's natural resources.
NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg on July 10, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Each NATO country will be able to make an individual decision on whether to allow Ukraine to use Western weapons for long-range strikes into Russia, outgoing NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview with the U.K.'s LBC Radio published on Sept. 16.
Ukraine is hoping for permission to use Western-supplied long-range missiles that it already possesses to strike military targets located deep inside Russian territory.
As the discussions on the issue appeared to be closer to reaching a change in policy, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other officials have upped their rhetoric, claiming that such a move would mean that NATO is directly at war with Russia.
Stoltenberg acknowledged the threats but said, "There are no risk-free options in war."
"But I continue to believe that the biggest risk for us will be if President Putin wins in Ukraine," he added.
Saber-rattling aside, some NATO countries have already begun to alter their stance on long-range strikes in recent days.
The Guardian reported on Sept. 11, citing unnamed U.K. officials, that the British government had already made a positive decision regarding the usage of its Storm Shadow missiles ahead of a joint trip by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy to Kyiv.
At the same time, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Germany will not allow Ukraine to use its weapons for such long-range strikes "even if other countries decide otherwise."
Nate Ostiller
