Switzerland is hosting a summit on Saturday and Sunday designed as a “first step” to find the path to peace in Ukraine, with dozens of senior leaders, but without Russia and presumably China. “We dare to talk about peace,” launched the Swiss Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ignazio Cassis, presenting the program of the meeting to the media on Monday.
The “High Level Conference on Peace in Ukraine”, its official name, will take place in the wake of the G7 meeting, from Thursday to Saturday, in southern Italy, with the participation of the Ukrainian president in both meetings. Volodymyr Zelensky. G7 leaders hope to reach an agreement on using interest from frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine.
More than 90 states and organizations are expected in Switzerland, including French President Emmanuel Macron, American Vice-President Kamala Harris, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
“The conference is a first step,” stressed Ignazio Cassis, but “there will be no peace process without Russia. The question is not if Russia will be on board but when.” Bern did not invite Russia, the latter having indicated that it was not interested because it considers that Switzerland has lost its neutrality by aligning itself with European sanctions.
The head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov said on Sunday that Russian forces had captured the border village of Ryzhivka, in the Sumy region in northeastern Ukraine. The fighters of the Akhmat battalion “carried out tactical operations together with servicemen of other Russian units and liberated another locality from the enemy” which “is the village of Ryzhivka,” Ramzan Kadyrov wrote on the Telegram messenger.
“As a result of large-scale planned offensive actions, the Ukrainian side suffered significant losses and was forced to retreat,” he added.
AFP was not immediately able to verify the Chechen leader’s claims.
Sunday, the day was marked by the announcement by the Ukrainian army of a strike that hit Su-57 fighter parked at an airfield in southern Russia, its first attack against this latest generation Russian stealth plane.
Like every day, the 20 Minutes editorial team is working to provide you with all the information on the conflict. War was declared with Russia’s invasion of the country on the night of February 23 to 24, 2022. This Monday is the 838th day of war.
