Semafor Signals
Ukraine angles for fresh security agreements as Zelenskyy tours Europe
Insights from the BBC, the Institute for the Study of War, and The New York Times
The News
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is pushing European allies for better security agreements and defense contracts that would feasibly allow Kyiv to strike targets deep within Russian territory.
So far, Ukraine’s military agreements with European nations have prohibited the use of long-range missiles to target Russia directly, as Ukraine’s allies are wary of being drawn further into the conflict themselves.
SIGNALS
War is being fought on the production lines
Over the course of the war, Ukraine has had access to stronger weapons from NATO allies than Russia has access to. But domestic politics in some countries, especially the United States, have hampered or slowed Kyiv’s access to the supplies it says it needs to reach its military goals, the BBC noted. Ultimately, the war is now being fought on production lines, a senior NATO official said, and that Russia is “outproducing” Ukraine and its allies. The official alleged that China is materially aiding Russia’s war effort. “Machine tools and microelectronics come from China and go direct to strengthening the defence industries, so they churn out more tanks and missiles,” the official said.
Increase in Russian presence could stretch Ukraine thin
Kharkiv, a major Ukrainian border city that has been targeted by Moscow for months, has been struck by repeated attacks in recent days as Russia tries to capture more territory along the war’s eastern front. Any further increase in Moscow’s efforts along that front could stretch Ukrainian forces thin, according to recent analysis from the Institute for the Study of War. Russia is undermanned and “incohesive,” the ISW noted, but any congregation of troops in the border region will hamper Ukrainian efforts to counter their advance.
Ukraine pitches peace summit to US, China as civilians targeted in war
Two strikes on civilian infrastructure have fueled Ukrainian officials’ campaign for a more significant Western response to the war, The New York Times noted. Ukrainian officials have alleged that Russia is targeting civilians because it has been unsuccessful in capturing more territory along the front: “[Russian President Vladimir Putin] can’t occupy Kharkiv, hence he tries to kill it,” said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. Meanwhile, Zelenskyy called for US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to attend a peace summit in Switzerland, and has called for a total withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine. A Kremlin spokesperson called the peace summit idea “absurd.”
