The looming accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO, provided of course that Turkey does not insist on its negative position, forces Vladimir Putin to accelerate his attacks on the Ukrainian fronts, especially the eastern one, in order to show at least one "victory" after the spectacular change in the balance of power and security policy in Scandinavia.
The fall of Azovstal, after an escalating siege, was a step that the Kremlin seemed to need, in a climate of irritation at NATO expanding and reaching so close to the northern Russian border.
In a dramatic development with shocking scenes, some 260 military fled the steelworks site, as there appeared to be no other possibility of defending the area and given that these forces had been cut off from the Ukrainian army.
According to the Ukrainian authorities, 53 wounded were taken to a medical centre in Novoazovsk and another 211 to the village of Olenifka, which is controlled by Russian forces. All the soldiers are to be transferred later to areas controlled by the Ukrainian army with Kiev clarifying that efforts to rescue the remaining soldiers at the steel plant are continuing.
In a message, President Volodymyr Zhelensky stressed that the important thing is "to save the lives of our brave men... Ukraine needs its heroes alive."
Moscow's gaining full control of Mariupol is matched by a crescendo of Russian attacks in Donbass and beyond. According to the Ukrainian authorities, yesterday alone there were bombings in at least 25 towns and villages in the two regions Putin wants "independent", Donetsk and Luhansk.
But there were also explosions in Lviv, in the west of Ukraine, where a significant amount of military aid from Europe and the US is believed to pass through.
Between hammer and tongs in Europe over energy
Interesting developments are now taking place in Europe over energy and the standoff with Moscow over gas payments and the full embargo on Russian oil. In a rather expected move, the European Commission sent a message to member states and companies that they can pay in rubles for Russian gas supplies, as Moscow has demanded since April.
In a statement that rather simply accepts the practice, which most of Europe has adopted in the meantime, the Commission seems to accept this practice.
The Commission notes that its recommendations "do not prevent economic operators from opening a bank account at a designated bank for payments due under contracts for the supply of natural gas in gaseous form, in the currency specified in those contracts... companies should make a clear statement that they intend to fulfil their obligations under existing contracts and consider their contractual obligations to pay fulfilled by paying in euros or dollars, in accordance with their contractual obligations to pay in euros or dollars. In essence, with these formalities and avoiding references to 'violation of sanctions if the payment method is changed', the Commission does not prevent companies from opening an account with Gazprombank, as Russia's requirement for subsequent payment in roubles envisages.
It is estimated that more than 20 European companies have already taken this step.
At the same time, the sixth package of sanctions providing for a full embargo on Russian oil remains without final approval for about two weeks, with Hungary saying on Monday afternoon that it had not received any serious proposal from the Commission on the issue. Budapest believes that the European Commission has caused a problem with this proposal.
Scholz: As long as Putin doesn't win the war
With energy being a source of concern for Europe, especially if the frontal conflict with Russia continues, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sent a stern message to Moscow, that Europe will not recognize territorial changes in Ukraine, but interestingly enough, he also defined the West's objectives vis-à-vis the Kremlin by talking about "understanding". He thus appeared, in an interview on Monday evening, to be moving along a line drawn in recent days by Macron and Draghi to avoid escalation in the conflict and seek a peaceful solution.
"The goal should be that Russia should not win the war, but we should not go beyond that because of the fact that we are dealing with a nuclear power, that would be completely the wrong goal," Solts said, confirming European scepticism, in contrast to the tougher stance taken by the United States towards Vladimir Putin.
"It is inevitable that there will eventually be some understanding with Ukraine, but his great concern is, before that, the risk of an escalation of the war," the German chancellor noted, making it clear, however, that there can be no peace agreement in Ukraine that would legitimize the territories conquered by arms. He also assured Moscow that the West will continue to help Kiev militarily to resist the Russian invasion.
Source: protothema.gr
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