Ukraine shrugs off Macron, Merkel, Putin talk on Donbas

President Volodymyr Zelensky’s spokesperson Yulia Mendel commented on March 31 regarding a March 30 video call involving the presidents of France, Germany and Russia. Mendel told ukrinform.net that the three presidents had had a wide-ranging conversation, and that it would be “strange if the war in eastern Ukraine fell out of the international agenda…” Germany’s dw.com notes that the conversation also included a discussion of the Navalny case, the use of Sputnik COVID-19 vaccine in the EU, and the situations in Syria and Libya.

James Hydzik: In this case, we have to agree with Mendel. It is normal for Ukraine to be brought up in this context, and it would be odd to discuss everything else without it. For as long as relations between Ukraine and its European partners remain solid, such conversations should be welcome.

Combined with the U.S. calls we focused on in today’s news, there is no doubt that the Kremlin knows that it is under increased observation. Every indication is that this attention is wanted – NATO also intercepted 10 Russian planes in six hours on Monday.