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Photo: STR/AFP
What has happened in the past few hours
A diplomatic solution to the Ukraine war is still not in sight.
Instead, the Ukrainian general staff reports significant activity by the Russian army in the east, south and north-east of the country.
In the Kharkiv region in the northeast, Russians have fired on a dozen towns.
Eight communities were also shot at near the city of Kramatorsk in central Ukraine.
To get closer to a diplomatic solution, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could now ask the People's Republic of China to use its political and economic influence on Russia to end the war.
The South China Morning Post newspaper writes that Zelenskyy is looking for an opportunity to speak "directly" to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Ukrainian President is quoted as saying: »It is a very powerful state.
China has a powerful economy... So it can influence Russia politically and economically.
In addition, China is a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
That says Kyiv
In his evening
video speech, Zelenskyj
once again accused Russia of violating international law with the war of aggression.
The problem is that the world has long let Russia get away with these violations, be it the annexation of Crimea or the downing of a Boeing over Donbass.
The war in Ukraine shows how fragile freedom is.
It can "only be protected by collective action, and for this to work in the long term, an effective global security architecture is required that ensures that no state can ever again use terror against another state," said Zelenskyj.
At the same time, the President accused Russia of only pretending to be willing to negotiate.
If Russia were really interested in a peaceful solution to the conflict, it would not now be massing further reserves in southern Ukraine.
In this context, Selenskyj also criticized Gerhard Schröder, who had declared after his trip to Moscow that Russia wanted a negotiated solution.
In an interview, Schröder said that perhaps the agreement on grain exports could slowly be expanded into a ceasefire.
Zelenskyy said: »It is simply disgusting when former leaders of powerful states with European values work for Russia, which fights against these values.«
Previously, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on his Twitter channel that "there is nothing more cynical than the claims by Putin supporters that Russia is ready for negotiations".
Daily artillery shelling and rocket attacks against civilian objects on Ukrainian territory said otherwise.
In addition, he once again accused the Russian military of serious war crimes.
"Russia remains focused on the war - everything else is a cloud of fog," says Kuleba.
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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that Russia was prepared to settle the "problem" diplomatically - but only on Russian terms.
After the start of the war at the end of February, there were short-term efforts to find a diplomatic solution.
The last round of negotiations took place in Istanbul at the end of March.
There was a rapprochement, but there was no further meeting afterwards.
The last phone conversations between the negotiators were reported in May.
Both sides are obviously hoping to improve their negotiating position, first using military means.
So it is with NATO enlargement
Meanwhile, in the United States, the Senate has ratified Finland and Sweden's accession to NATO.
This means that 23 of the 30 NATO member states have now agreed to the admission of Finland and Sweden.
The Chamber of Congress voted Wednesday to expand the defense alliance by an overwhelming majority: 95 votes in favour, just one against.
The result far exceeded the required two-thirds majority of 67 votes.
"This historic vote is an important signal of the United States' continued, non-partisan commitment to NATO and that our alliance is prepared for the challenges of today and tomorrow," said US President Joe Biden.
Finland and Sweden broke with their traditional military neutrality in May and applied for NATO membership.
The inclusion must be approved by all 30 NATO countries.
For Germany, this was done by the Bundestag and Bundesrat at the beginning of July.
The accession of Finland and Sweden was also ratified by France on Tuesday and then by Italy and finally the USA on Wednesday.
However, NATO member Turkey has threatened a veto.
jul/dpa/Reuters/AFP