It is not country of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy; it is “Z” horde!

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the President’s Office, responded to the Kremlin’s statements about the resumption of negotiations, providing a list of conditions under which Ukraine is ready to sit down at the negotiating table again.

“Ceasefire. Z-troops withdrawal. Returning of kidnapped citizens. Extradition of war criminals. Reparations mechanism. Ukraine’s sovereign rights recognition. The Russian side knows our conditions well. Peskov's boss may not worry: the time will come and we will record them on paper,” Podolyak tweeted.

Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov earlier said that Ukraine „must understand Russia's conditions, agree to them, sit down at the negotiating table, and sign a document.”

Russians are experts in protracted conflicts

The biggest risk now is that conflict in Ukraine could become protracted, said the former head of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen. In Rasmussen’s opinion, a protracted conflict serves Putin’s goals because it will prevent Ukraine from making real progress towards EU, NATO, and in the economy.

He noted that the Russians are experts in prolonged armed conflicts and mentioned the examples of Georgia, Moldova and Transnistria, where Russian troops have been deployed for several decades. Moreover, in Crimea and Donbas areas the war has started back in 2014.

“I am concerned by the fact that prolonged conflict may perfectly suit Putin’s goals. He considers simmering a frozen conflict in the Eastern part of Ukraine as a reliable way to prevent real progress in Ukraine’s integration with the EU and the NATO and growth of the country’s economy.”

Following not through door latch

The world’s first full-scale cyberwar is now being unfolded in Ukraine, said Brigadier General Yuriy Shchigol, head of the State Service of Special Communications of Ukraine.

According to Yury Shchigol, Russian hackers operate outside of official government structures, but are deeply integrated into Russian special services and have access to classified intelligence data.

Russian hackers act completely unprincipled – just like the Russian army as a whole, says Shchigol. “Their targets are critical infrastructure facilities such as energy and utilities, hospitals and emergency response services, the financial system, logistics that provide assistance to organizations,” he said, noting that at the time of the greatest influx of Ukrainian immigrants, hackers attacked humanitarian organizations.

Each country has its own Kremlinovyches

The Bulgarian secret services have data showing that Russia pays about €2 000 per month to public figures, journalists, and politicians to spread its propaganda in the country, stated government spokesperson and head of the Prime Minister’s Office Lena Borislavova.

She explained that the money was given to Bulgarian politicians, famous journalists, analysts, political scientists and other persons appearing in the public media. The Russian state paid them to shape public opinion.

“To all of you who spit on the EU and NATO for free, as well as support Putin’s actions in Ukraine, you should know. You are screwed up. Those who inspire you to do so are paid. Monthly,” she added.

Ukrainians sure money will hope them cope

Obtaining the status of a candidate member of the European Union allows you to begin integration into European institutions, and also opens up access to funding. On the benefits of status in an interview Lb.ua said Prime Minister Denys Shmygal.

In particular, Ukraine at the level of official bodies and individuals gets access to the institutions of the European Commission and is already starting to work with it.

Also, Ukraine gets access to the financing of EU candidates. For the next seven years, more than 14 billion euros of support for candidate countries, or 2 billion euros for each state, has been pledged.

But one of the key advantages of the status Shmyhal called the tools of pre-entry assistance – technical support for the development of rural areas and other industries.

It will be a wonder country after war

President Volodymyr Zelensky, during his online speech at the Lugano Conference, shared his vision for reconstructing the destroyed regions and emphasized the need for reforms.

Zelensky underlined Ukraine would develop its reconstruction plan as a common platform for all initiatives.

“I am grateful to the European Commission for the initiative to set up a special European platform for Ukrainian reconstruction. However, all initiatives, plans, and ambitions must be coordinated on the same platform. Therefore, Ukraine offers its national reconstruction plan based on the possibility to implement every initiative,” Zelensky said.

The President pointed out the key reconstruction principles, including safety, technology, compliance with environmental standards, green technologies, barrier-free principles, focus on communities, maximum transparency, and creating new jobs and new productions in Ukraine.