Ukraine War Briefing: Moscow Considers Downgrading Relations With West Over Ukraine Involvement

Russia is considering a possible downgrade in its relations with the West due to the deeper involvement of the United States and its allies in the war in Ukraine, but no decision has yet been made, the Kremlin said on Thursday.. A deterioration in relations – or even their breakdown – would illustrate the seriousness of the confrontation between Russia and the West over Ukraine, after an escalation of tensions around the war in recent months. Relations were maintained even during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, when the Cold War was considered the closest to a nuclear war.

Ukraine‘The Russian military said Thursday that its forces had forced Russian troops out of a district of the town of Chasiv Yar on the eastern front of the war, seen as Moscow’s next target in its slow advance in the region. Nazar Voloshin, a spokesman for the Southern Ukrainian Group of Forces, told the Ukrinform news agency that Russian forces had left the “Kanal” district of Chasiv Yar, along the Siverskyi Donets-Donbass Canal that runs along the eastern edge of the city. However, a Russian report said that Moscow’s forces had destroyed a communications tower near the city and advanced further. It was not possible to independently verify this information.

Ukraine’s president met with all 27 European Union leaders in Brussels to sign a security pact, two days after his country began formal negotiations to join the bloc – a historic step that was unthinkable before Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the EU-Ukraine security agreement would “enshrine the commitment of all 27 member states to provide Ukraine with extensive support, regardless of any internal institutional changes.”

Zelenskiy also told EU leaders that Russia’s spring offensive in Kharkiv showed that international pressure on the Kremlin was “not enough.” “Thanks to the courage of our people and the decisions of our partners, we have stopped this Russian offensive,” he said. “But this new Russian offensive has proven that the current pressure on Russia for war is not enough.”

France’s far-right National Rally (RN) will not allow Russia to absorb Ukraine if it comes to power in the legislative elections, party leader Jordan Bardella said on Thursday.. “I will not let Russian imperialism absorb an allied state like Ukraine,” Bardella said in a televised debate, promising to both “support Ukraine and avoid escalation with Russia.”

At the same time, the former parliamentary leader of the RN, Marine Le Pen, said she expected her party to obtain an absolute majority in the French legislative elections, form a government and make at least some decisions on matters defense and army, including on Ukraine. Le Pen has previously maintained friendly relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and has advocated for closer ties with Moscow.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday the “resilient” military alliance could withstand any political shifts among major powers ahead of crucial elections in the United States and France.The high-stakes votes on both sides of the Atlantic feature far-right candidates – Donald Trump and Le Pen – historically hostile to the military alliance and known for their warm relations with Russia, its main adversary.