The UK defence intelligence has stated that both Russia and Ukraine are suffering heavy military casualties still as both sides reject peace talks, including the Istanbul treaty, and the trust deficit widens between the leaders. With the losses of Russia reportedly to be the highest ever since the peak of the battle for Bakhmut in March, the fighting has now continued to gain momentum around Bakhmut.

After promising to launch its counteroffensive in the summer, Ukraine did so earlier this month. On June 12, it also said its troops had made advances on three southeast vilalges, the first settlements it reported to liberate ever since launching its counter-offensive attack.

In the past few days, the fighting has continued to gain momentum, with the most intense battels focused in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, around Bakhmut and in western Donetsk Oblast, the UK intelligence stated. The European Union too is speeding up the delivery of arms to Ukraine to support the counteroffensive, Thierry Breton, the EU industry chief, told French newspaper Le Parisien.

"In the south, Russian forces often conduct relatively effective defensive operations. Both sides are suffering high casualties, with Russian losses likely the highest since the peak of the battle for Bakhmut in March," the UK's defence ministry said in its defence intelligence update tweet.

Amid all this, last week, Russia announced its plans to stage elections in its occupied regions of Ukraine within three months, in a bid to signal that it was still in control, even as the counteroffensive by Ukraine pushed its forces back in a few areas.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday, June 18, accused Ukraine of signing a peace treaty during the beginning of the war, but later threw it in the "garbage of history".

Putin said that during the initial stage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the two countries had signed a peace treaty in Istanbul after Turkey hosted negotiations to help both sides develop "trust" among themselves. Putin said Ukraine discarded the peace treaty as soon as Russia obliged. He asked what guarantee did he have that Ukraine would not renounce any such agreements in the future as well?

Russia has also rejected the offers of the United Nations to help the people in the areas occupied by Russia, who were affected by the collapsed Nova Kakhovka Dam flooding. The dam, which was breached on june 6, resulted in water from the Dnipro River engulfing communities across south Ukraine, including the parts that Russia occupied in the Kherson region.

Also Read: New York Times report suggests Russia blew Kakhovka dam in Ukraine

The Russia-Ukraine war which began at the end of February 2022 resulted in a major demand-supply mismatch, on the back of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the western sanctions on Russia, which in turn resulted in rising inflation, central banks across the globe increasing their interest rates, countries staring at a global slowdown, with some such as New Zealand also hitting recession.

When the war started, billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman said, people had predicted Ukraine would fall within a month. But it is still on.

In a tweet on June 19, Ackman said, that he has learned from experience that the government, experts as well as conventional wisdom are often wrong. "It is often the outlier with no experience in a field that challenges the status quo, that makes the important discovery, that has the unique insight, or creates the transformational innovation," he said in his tweet.

He said in order to get to the truth, he tries to keep an open mind for alternative possibilities and weigh them against each other. "I often find that truth can emerge when two or more articulate and intelligent individuals in an open forum discuss and debate a controversial subject and are required to address unscripted questions from a knowledgeable audience or moderator," he said.

Also Read: In Photos | Over 72 million people displaced within their home countries in 2022

(Edited by : C H Unnikrishnan)

First Published:Jun 19, 2023 1:43 PM IST