Ukraine war: Swiss peace summit begins as Zelensky rejects Putin ‘ultimatum’

Ukrainian firepower has been improving since US lawmakers approved a much-needed military aid package this spring, though not quickly enough to halt the Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine.

New weapons and ammunition have been trickling to the front line since Joe Biden signed off on the massive aid package in April. But it will take weeks, if not months, for Ukraine to fully replenish its depleted stocks.

Kyiv has turned to a bend-but-don’t-break strategy to buy time until it can get more Western weapons and ammunition to the front. By ceding some territory, Ukraine has been able to fight from better defended positions, according to interviews with senior Ukrainian military leaders, soldiers and officers in the field, and analysts.

Although the influx of Western munitions has shrunk Kyiv’s glaring artillery disadvantage, Moscow’s forces are still gaining ground along the snaking front line and will likely continue to do so through the summer, when the drier ground and longer days will only aid their push.

Ukraine is still on the defensive in the Donetsk region, enabling Moscow’s forces to inflict heavy losses during Ukrainian troop rotations and bringing them closer to crucial Ukrainian supply routes.

Peace talks taking place in Switzerland today and tomorrow represent a test of Ukraine’s diplomatic clout, with China’s decision to stay away already limiting the extent to which the summit can put pressure on Russia.

Russia has not been invited to the talks, while the Kremlin dismissed the event as a waste of time and claimed it had no interest in attending. China had said it would consider taking part, but ultimately declined because Russia would not be there.

Without China, hopes of isolating Moscow have faded, while recent military reverses have put Kyiv on the back foot. The war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas has also diverted attention from Ukraine.

“The summit risks showing the limits of Ukrainian diplomacy,” said Richard Gowan, UN Director at the International Crisis Group. “Nonetheless, it is also a chance for Ukraine to remind the world that it is defending the principles of the UN Charter.”

“It’s clear that at the moment, in geopolitical terms, for China the special relationship with Russia takes precedence over any other consideration,” said Bernardino Regazzoni, a former Swiss ambassador to China.

“What can (Zelensky) hope for out of it?” said Daniel Woker, a former Swiss ambassador. “Another small step forward in international solidarity with Ukraine as the victim of Russian aggression.”

The talks are expected to focus on broader concerns triggered by the war, such as food and nuclear security and freedom of navigation, and a draft of the final declaration identifies Russia as the aggressor in the conflict, sources said.

Vladimir Putin has promised to “immediately” order a ceasefire in Ukraine and begin negotiations if Kyiv starts to withdraw troops from the four occupied Ukrainian regions and renounces plans to join Nato.

Such a deal appears a non-starter for Kyiv, which wants to join the military alliance and has demanded that Russia withdraw its troops from all of its territory.

“We will do it immediately,” Mr Putin said in a speech at the Russian foreign ministry in Moscow.

His remarks came as leaders of the G7 leaders met in Italy and as Switzerland prepared to host scores of world leaders this weekend to try to map out first steps toward peace in Ukraine.

Mr Putin said his proposal is aimed at a “final resolution” of the conflict in Ukraine rather than “freezing it”, and stressed that the Kremlin is “ready to start negotiations without delay”.

Broader demands for peace that the Russian leader listed included Ukraine‘s non-nuclear status, restrictions on its military force and protecting the interests of the Russian-speaking population in the country.

“We’re urging to turn this tragic page of history and to begin restoring, step-by-step, restore the unity between Russia and Ukraine and in Europe in general,” Mr Putin said.

Mr Putin’s remarks represented a rare occasion in which he clearly laid out his conditions for ending the war in Ukraine, but it did not include any new demands.

World leaders are joining Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky at a summit in Switzerland starting today to explore ways of ending the deadliest conflict in Europe since the Second World War.

Russia hasn’t been invited to the event and China has declined, but the Swiss government says 92 countries will be represented. US vice president Kamala Harris, French president Emmanuel Macron and the leaders of Germany, Italy, Britain, Canada and Japan are among those set to attend the 15-16 June meeting at the Swiss mountaintop resort of Buergenstock.

India, which has helped Moscow survive the shock of economic sanctions, is expected to send a delegation. Turkey and Hungary, which similarly maintain cordial ties with Russia, will be represented by their foreign ministers.

But despite months of intense Ukrainian and Swiss lobbying, some others will not be there, most notably China, a key consumer of Russian oil and supplier of goods that help Moscow maintain its manufacturing base.

“This meeting is already a result,” Zelensky said in Berlin earlier this week, while acknowledging the challenge of maintaining international support as the war, now well into its third year, grinds on.

Organisers preparing a joint statement have battled to strike a balance between condemning Russia’s actions and securing as many participants as possible, diplomats say.

A final draft of the summit declaration refers to Russia’s “war” against Ukraine, and also underlines commitment to the UN charter and respect for international law, according to two people familiar with the document.

Switzerland wants the summit to pave the way for a “future peace process” in which Russia takes part – and to determine which country could take on the next phase.

Several diplomats said Saudi Arabia is among the favourites, with other Middle Eastern states also possible.

Zelensky visited Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to discuss the summit with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister will attend, Switzerland said.

Vladimir Putin has claimed that more than 600,000 Russian troops are fighting in Ukraine as his 27-month-old invasion drags on.

Speaking at a public event with Russian military personnel, Putin claimed there were 617,000 military personnel fighting in Ukraine in December 2023.

This is the first time Putin has publicly acknowledged deployment of hundreds of thousands of his soldiers in Ukraine.

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency’s spokesperson Andrii Yusov said that the true number of Russian troops in Ukraine on 15 December was 450,000 and Putin is exaggerating the figures to “increase information pressure” on the war-hit nation.

Kyiv’s tally of Russian soldiers killed, wounded or captured fighting in Ukraine includes more than 500,000 Russian troops.

A declassified US intelligence report in December said that Russia had lost 315,000 troops in Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion, representing nearly 90 per cent of the military personnel it had in February 2022.

The leader of Armenia on Wednesday declared his intention to pull out of a Russia-dominated security alliance of several ex-Soviet nations as tensions rise between the two allies.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said his government will decide later when to leave the Collective Security Treaty Organization, or CSTO, a grouping that includes Russia and the former Soviet Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Amid the widening rift with Russia, Armenia earlier froze its participation in the alliance, canceled its involvement in joint military drills and snubbed CSTO summits.

US vice president Kamala Harris will attend the international Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland starting today, where she will meet with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky and address world leaders.

She will stress that the outcome of the war in Ukraine affects the entire world, a US official said, and push for the maximum number of countries to back the notion that Russia’s invasion violates the UN Charter’s founding principles and that Ukraine‘s sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected.

Ms Harris, who will spend less than 24 hours at the gathering in Lucerne, will be standing in for president Joe Biden at the event.

Ms Harris will meet Mr Zelensky and address the summit’s plenary session. Mr Biden met his Ukrainian counterpart both at the G7 summit, where they signed a US-Ukraine security agreement, and in France for events surrounding the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.

The president will be returning to the United States after his participation at the G7 summit in Italy to attend a fundraiser for his re-election campaign in Los Angeles.

Volodymyr Zelensky met Pope Francis yesterday and spoke to him about “Russian aggression and terror” and thanked the sovereign of Vatican city for participation in the peace talks.

“I met with @Pontifex and thanked His Holiness for his prayers for peace in Ukraine, his spiritual closeness to our people, and humanitarian aid for Ukrainians. I informed the Pope about the consequences of Russian aggression, its air terror, and the difficult energy situation,” he said on X.

The Ukrainian war-time leader said he is looking forward to seeing the Pope play a role in establishing peace.

“We discussed the Peace Formula, the Holy See’s role in establishing a just and lasting peace, and expectations for the Global Peace Summit. I thanked the Holy See for its participation in the Summit and highlighted its efforts aimed at bringing peace closer, particularly returning Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.”

A U.S. Navy submarine has arrived in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in a show of force as a fleet of Russian warships gather for planned military exercises in the Caribbean.

U.S. Southern Command said the USS Helena, a nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, pulled into the waters near the U.S. base in Cuba on Thursday, just a day after a Russian frigate, a nuclear-powered submarine, an oil tanker and a rescue tug crossed into Havana Bay after drills in the Atlantic Ocean.

The stop is part of a “routine port visit” as the submarine travels through Southern Command’s region, it said in a social media post.

Western leaders have called out Russian president Vladimir Putin’s sudden plan to “dictate peace” and end the conflict in Ukraine.

US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said at Nato headquarters in Brussels that Putin “has illegally occupied sovereign Ukrainian territory. He is not in any position to dictate to Ukraine what they must do to bring about a peace.”

Austin added that Putin “started this war with no provocation. He could end it today if he chose to do that.”

Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said: “This is not a peace proposal. This is a proposal of more aggression, more occupation, and it demonstrates in a way that that Russia’s aim is to control Ukraine.”

Putin said if “Kyiv and Western capitals” reject his offer, “it is their business, their political and moral responsibility for continuing the bloodshed.”