Russian President Vladimir Putin’s congratulations to forces for the capture of the Ukraine city of Bakhmut may be premature and also signal a desperate grasp for good news after a week to forget.
Putin has watched these past days, largely from the sidelines, as allies and opponents have jockeyedfor attention in areas where the global pariah once held court.
Saudi Arabia invited Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a guest of honour to the Arab League summit last Friday. The historic summit at the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah included, for the first time in more than a decade, representatives from all 22 nations in the league.
Unlike Zelenskyy, Putin wasn’t on the guest list and wasn’t able to attend to hear President Bashar al-Assad chide the West for causing divisions on the world stage, an event the Russian leader would no doubt have cherished being in attendance to nod along to.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad shakes hands with Tunisian President Kais Saied in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, during the Arab summit. Photo / AP
Also on Friday, the China-Central Asia Summit was held in Xi’an, where Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled to former Soviet Union territories of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan a grand plan for infrastructure to boost trade. The manoeuvre effectively claims a new leadership role in a region that had traditionally been a Russian sphere of influence.
The plan sets in place Beijing’s desire to secure political influence and energy assets in the resource-rich region, while Russia is distracted by its war in Ukraine, and the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan has diminished its presence in the region. Putin was not invited to Xi’an and could do little more than send greetings.
By Saturday, Zelenskyy took his pitch for support beyond his Western allies with a camera-grabbing appearance at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, confronting the leaders of India and Brazil after they chose not to back sanctions against Russia.
The US responded by announcing it had approved sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine to enhance the country’s air defence.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan. Photo / AP
Meanwhile, Putin’s effort to shore up more friends in the South Caucasus by scrapping visa requirements for Georgian nationals and lifting a four-year ban on direct flights to the country also didn’t appear to go as smoothly as the Russian leader may have hoped.
The first flight that landed on Friday in Georgia was met with protests.
Georgian police were forced to disperse protesters who had gathered at Tbilisi airport to meet an Azimuth Airlines flight from Moscow - the first to arrive from Russia since July 2019 - with signs and slogans criticising the Kremlin and what they described as the current Georgian Government’s pro-Russia course.
Even if the Wagner Forces have secured the former fortress city of Bakhmut for Putin, it’s a pyrrhic victory. The nine-month battle for Bakhmut has almost reduced the once picturesque administrative centre to rubble.
Satellite imagery shows infrastructure, apartment blocks and buildings levelled by the relentless artillery assaults.
One year ago, the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut was known for salt mines and sparkling wine. Today, it is a symbol of Russia’s brutal and relentless war. Bakhmut’s leafy green streets are now scorched landscapes, as shown in before-and-after satellite images. https://t.co/QEkrH5AFMSpic.twitter.com/WWr7mnrh4R
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) May 23, 2023
