Ukraine: Zelenskyy Cancels Upcoming Trips Amid Russian Offensive

Facts

• Amid a fresh Russian offensive that threatens to break through Ukraine's defensive lines in the Kharkiv region, Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy canceled his upcoming foreign travel on Wednesday.¹
• Zelenskyy was scheduled to travel to Spain on Friday, where he was scheduled to meet Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and sign a new bilateral security arrangement, followed by a trip to Portugal shortly thereafter.²
• The news was first reported by the Spanish news agency EFE, citing local sources, before it was officially confirmed by Zelenskyy's spokesman. 'Volodymyr Zelenskyy has given instructions to postpone all upcoming international events with his participation and to work out new dates,' the spokesman said. 'We are grateful to our partners for their understanding.'³
• A day earlier, after Russia captured at least seven villages in Kharkiv and was estimated to have taken roughly 50 square miles (120 square km) in territory, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an announced visit to Kyiv where he acknowledged this was 'a challenging time' for Ukraine, but said new US military aid was 'going to make a real difference.'⁴
• However, on Wednesday, Ukraine reported further losses of territory. A spokesman for its armed forces said that troops withdrew from the towns of Lukiantsi and Vovchansk in Kharkiv in order to save the lives of men and to avoid additional losses.⁵
• Later in the day, during a press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuelba, Blinken announced an additional $2B in military aid package for Ukraine to help quell the Russian advances.⁶

Sources: ¹Interfax, ²Ukrainska Pravda (a), ³Ukrainska Pravda (b), ⁴Associated Press, ⁵Ukrainska Pravda (c) and ⁶NDTV.com.

Narratives

• Pro-Ukraine narrative, as provided by Ukrainska Pravda. Zelenskyy has canceled his foreign travel commitments to ensure that the urgent frontline situation is getting all the attention it needs. Zelenskyy is in constant communication with military chiefs and everything is being done to prevent the further loss of Ukrainian territory.
• Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by TASS. Russia has repeatedly made offers to end the conflict by means of a negotiated settlement. However, if the West and Ukraine are determined to settle the conflict by military means on the battlefield, so be it.

Predictions