Associate Editor Dominic Nicholls speaks about an interesting development on the battlefield
Mr. Zelensky’s Chief of Staff, Andrey Yermak acknowledged for the first time a little bit of what’s been going on down in southern Kherson. He said that Ukraine’s forces there had established a foothold on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River.
And rather surprisingly, especially as it was only three or four days ago that the Russian MOD said ‘nothing to see here’, Russia has admitted that small groups of Ukrainian troops have established positions on the Russian held side of the river. This comes from the Moscow installed head of Ukraine’s Kherson region.
He acknowledged their presence there and said some Ukrainian soldiers were blocked in Krynky, which is the village we’ve been talking about 30ks due east of Kherson, but across the river.
Assistant Comment Editor Francis Dearnley speaks about Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s position on the ongoing full-scale war.
Nato’s secretary general – has acknowledged that Ukraine is in a “difficult” position amid Ukraine’s stalling counter-offensive but Russia cannot be allowed to win. “The situation on the battlefield is difficult,” he said at a meeting of the EU’s foreign affairs council in Brussels. “And that just makes it even more important that we sustain and step up our support for Ukraine because we cannot allow president Putin to win. Ukraine must prevail as a sovereign independent nation in Europe and it’s in our interest to support Ukraine.”
What that ‘stepping up’ tangibly looks like remains the key question, though.
Francis continues by looking at one potential future leader of Nato.
Staying on the EU, listeners will be familiar with Kaja Kallas, the Estonian Prime Minister, and one of Kyiv’s most vocal supporters on the world stage. We have speculated in the past about her name being touted as a possible future secretary general, though this seems to have been rejected as a possibility for the same reason that Ben Wallace was believed to be last time: for being too uncompromising. But she has now proactively said that she would like to be considered for the job once Jens Stoltenberg steps down.
Speaking at a Politico conference in Washington, Ms Kallas responded “yes” when she was pressed on whether she’d like to be considered for the role, according to the report. Her hawkish stance may be too much of a deterrent for some members of the alliance, not least the US, but she speaks for many in the Baltic states who believe a firmer stance is essential.
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War in Ukraine is reshaping our world. Every weekday The Telegraph’s top journalists analyse the invasion from all angles – military, humanitarian, political, economic, historical – and tell you what you need to know to stay updated.
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Ukraine: The Latest’s regular contributors are:
David Knowles
David is Head of Audio Development at The Telegraph, where he has worked for nearly three years. He has reported from across Ukraine during the full-scale invasion.
Dominic Nicholls
Dom is Associate Editor (Defence) at The Telegraph, having joined in 2018. He previously served for 23 years in the British Army, in tank and helicopter units. He had operational deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland.
Francis Dearnley
Francis is assistant comment editor at The Telegraph. Prior to working as a journalist, he was chief of staff to the Chair of the Prime Minister’s Policy Board at the Houses of Parliament in London. He studied History at Cambridge University and on the podcast explores how the past shines a light on the latest diplomatic, political, and strategic developments.
They are also regularly joined by The Telegraph’s foreign correspondents around the world, including Joe Barnes (Brussels), Sophia Yan (China), Nataliya Vasilyeva (Russia), Roland Oliphant (Senior Reporter) and Colin Freeman (Reporter).
