Ukraine: Zelenskyy promotes peace summit in Philippines

Two prominent pro-Kremlin activists in Germany have relocated to Russia, their lawyer confirmed on Monday.

Elena Kolbasnikova and her partner Max Schlund have been organizing pro-Russia rallies in Germany since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Since then, the couple have lost their jobs, were evicted form their apartment, and were subject to a number of criminal investigations in Germany.

The couple rejoiced at relocating to Russia in a Telegram post on Sunday. They said it was a country with clearly-defined gender roles, where homosexuality was not promoted, and where it was possible to eat an affordable meal at a restaurant.

"What do you have left, poor Europe?" they said in the post.

On Monday, their lawyer confirmed to the Reuters news agency that the pair, who are Russian citizens, left Germany because of "Russophobia" and were currently in the city of Kaliningrad.

Around 15 Russian women held a protest against the military draft outside the Defense Ministry in Moscow on Monday.

The women held placards that read "Bring my mobilized husband home" among other things.

They told a journalist from the AFP news agency that their husbands had been called up to fight in Ukraine.

The protest came a week after Russian authorities branded anti-conscription movement Put Domoy (The Way Home) as a "foreign agent." The group said it did not organize the protest, and the women said they were not members of the group.

Police later arrived to disperse the protest.

"We are asking you to call the defense minister," the women said as they got down on their knees in front of a police officer who asked them to put away their placards.  

One woman pointed to her toddler daughter and said: "Do you see her? I gave birth and three months later they took my husband." 

China dismissed allegations by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that it was pressuring countries not to attend a planned Ukraine peace summit.

The summit is due to be hosted in Switzerland next month. Russia is not invited to the event.

"China's position is open and transparent, and there is absolutely no instance of us putting pressure on other countries," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular press briefing.

She said China "believes that all efforts conducive to the peaceful resolution of the crisis should be supported."

Zelenskyy had accused Beijing of "working hard today to prevent countries from coming to the peace summit."

China criticized the conference last week, saying it would be "difficult" for it to attend if Russia is not allowed to participate.

Beijing claims it maintains a neutral position on the war in Ukraine and has called for a negotiated settlement between Moscow and Kyiv. It has also strengthened its security cooperation with Moscow since the start of the war, a move that has drawn criticism from Western countries.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned the US against allowing Ukraine to strike targets within Russia.

"I would like to warn American leaders against miscalculations that could have fatal consequences," he was quoted as saying by the RIA state news agency.

He pointed to comments made by Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, who said NATO countries were risking the outbreak of a broader global conflict in relaxing restrictions on Kyiv's use of Western weapons.

Putin said Western countries would be directly involved in any use of such weapons to hit Russian territory, arguing that Ukraine would require satellite, intelligence and military help to conduct the strikes.

"I urge these figures (in the US) ... to spend some of their time, which they apparently spend on some kind of video games, judging by the lightness of their approach, on studying what was said in detail by Putin," Ryabkov said.

Ryabkov said that Ukrainian attempts to attack Russian early-warning radar systems would be thwarted. He added that Moscow could respond asymmetrically to such threats.

The United States as well as Germany have said they would allow Ukraine to use weapons they deliver to attack certain targets inside Russia. 

Proposed European sanctions targeting transshipments of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) are unlikely to impact Asian buyers, European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, told the media in Tokyo on Monday.

As part of a 14th package of sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, the European Union proposed to ban the reloading services of EU facilities for Russian LNG to third countries. 

This does not impact imports into the EU.

The EU would also prohibit new investments and the provisions of goods, technology and services by EU operators for the completion of LNG projects under construction such as Arctic LNG and Murmansk LNG.

"This will not impose problems for Asian consumers: LNG market now is a liquid market and it is possible to replace volumes even if Russia will not find alternative transport means," Simson said.

Germany, Belgium and France, along with other nations, have asked the European Commission for assessments on whether the ban may affect the Russian economy more than the EU's, according to diplomats.

Simson said the Commission has provided its member states with "all the necessary data" that the proposal will not affect global markets significantly.

"It only means that Russia has to use alternative vessels to serve their third country customers that will be more expensive for Russia but otherwise it doesn't withdraw volumes away from global markets," she said.

One person was killed and two others were injured in an overnight Russian attack on Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, the region's governor said in a statement posted on the Telegram messaging app on Monday. 

The Kharkiv region, which borders Russia, along with the Kharkiv city, which is the administrative center of the region, have been battered almost daily, with attacks being stepped up in recent weeks after Moscow's forces launched a new offensive in the area.

Nearly 1,000 people came together in central Kyiv on Sunday for the memorial service of a young Ukrainian journalist and volunteer combat medic who was killed in action last week.

Iryna Tsybukh, 25, was killed while serving in the Kharkiv area, where Russia started its offensive almost a month ago.

Her funeral service, held at Saint Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery on Sunday, saw hundreds of people wearing colorful Ukrainian vyshyvankas — embroidered national shirts — and carrying Ukrainian flags and flowers.

Tsybukh's coffin was draped in the yellow-and-blue Ukrainian flag.

She was a part of the Hospitallers volunteer battalion and was credited with saving the lives of many soldiers, often risking her own life to evacuate injured servicemen from the line of duty.

Last year while stationed on the front lines in the eastern Donetsk region, she penned down a farewell letter to be published in the case of her death.

Her death sparked widespread reaction on social media, where her letter went viral for several days after her death.

"I am not sorry to die, because I am finally living the life I would like. I will not lie, to feel this indispensable, true freedom, I will have to go through more than one more session of therapy, fears and tears," the letter, published by her brother, said.

 "Be worthy of the deeds of our heroes, don't be sad, be brave," she added.

Ukrainewill open an embassy in Manila this year, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during his bilateral talks with Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Marcos welcomed the decision as it would help facilitate more assistance to the war-battered nation.

"We continue to do all that we can to promote peace and to bring an end to the fighting," Marcos said as the two leaders held their first in-person meeting in Manila. 
 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in the Philippines during a rare Asian visit to call on regional leaders to attend a global peace summit, scheduled to be held in Switzerland later this month.

Zelenskyy accused Russia as well as China of trying to undermine the peace summit. 

Zelenskyy met with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Manila on Monday and thanked him for his country's "clear position" on Moscow’s "occupation of our territories." Marcos assured Zelenskyy of his country's continued support.

The Ukrainian president traveled late Sunday to Manila, unannounced and under heavy security. 

He made the trip from Singapore where he made an unscheduled appearance at the Shangri-La Dialogue conference. 

Zelenskyy thanked his Philippine counterpart for the country’s participation in the upcoming Swiss peace summit, describing it as a "very strong signal" towards achieving peace in the war-torn nation.

It wasn't clear if the Filipino leader had agreed to attend the peace summit in Switzerland or to send an envoy.

The trip was Zelenskyy's second visit to Asia since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Zelenskyy, who was visiting the Philippines for the first time since taking office in 2019, received a red carpet welcome with military honors at the presidential palace before meeting with Marcos.

Marcos told Zelenkskyy he was "honored" the Ukrainian president was visiting Manila.

"It's a great pleasure to meet, to discuss, issues that are common for both countries, and hopefully, we find ways for both of us together," Marcos said.

dvv/sms (AP, Reuters; AFP; dpa)