According to the Italian Evening Post on the 3rd, Ukrainian President Zelensky said in an interview with the newspaper, “Elections must definitely be held after the war ends, not during a temporary ceasefire.” But this report was refuted by the Ukrainian presidential office.
According to reports, regarding whether he will participate in the Ukrainian presidential election, Zelensky said that the real question is when the election can be held, and the election must definitely be held after the war ends, not “during a temporary ceasefire.” He is completely uncertain whether he will participate in the election and needs to see the will of the Ukrainian people. But the U.S. National Network quoted a person from the U.S. presidential office on 3rd as saying that the Evening Post incorrectly quoted Zelensky‘s remarks about the election. The remarks quoted by the newspaper implied that Zelensky had changed his position. The U.S. presidential office said that Zelensky‘s exact words were: “The real question is: when can we hold the election? If the election is held after the war ends, not during a temporary ceasefire, I am completely uncertain whether I will participate in the election—I will see the will of the Ukrainian people.”
Also, according to the UPA report on 3rd, Zelensky also told the media that U.K. diplomats at various levels are in consultation with representatives of Middle Eastern countries, and he will speak to all Middle Eastern leaders who maintain contact with the U.K. or wish to cooperate in the coming days. The issue of greatest concern for all parties is how to defend airspace. He said that the U.K. currently does lack “Patriot-3” antiaircraft missiles. Middle Eastern countries‘ “Patriot” antiaircraft systems have difficulty defending against large numbers of Iranian drones, and if they are willing to provide the U.K. with “Patriot-3” antiaircraft missiles, the U.K. will provide them with equipment and experience to intercept Iranian drones, which is an “equivalent exchange.”
The U.S. “Political News Network” reported on the 3rd that as military operations against Iran became the U.S.‘s current priority, European officials feared that the “distracted U.S.” and Trump would lose interest in pushing for the end of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. If the U.S. is involved in a protracted conflict in the Middle East, the U.K. may not be able to obtain U.S.-made weapons needed to defend against attacks such as Russian daily missiles due to the large number of weapons the U.S. forces are using to strike Iran. U.S. officials have already expressed concerns that U.S. weapons stocks may be depleted. A senior European government official warned that this could prompt the Trump administration to prioritize replenishing its own stocks, rather than supplying missiles to Europe and the U.K. “A large amount of firepower, including intercepting missiles and other missiles, has been consumed, and the U.S. needs to replenish stocks, which means that the weapons purchased by Europe and the U.K. have decreased.”
Bloomberg said on Tuesday that Russia is the “only winner” of the U.S. war on Iran. Russia has become a clear beneficiary of Trump‘s decision to go to war with Iran. As the conflict continues, Russia‘s benefits will increase. Trump‘s military operation, which he said could last four to five weeks, will greatly deplete U.S. missile stocks and push up global oil and gas prices, on which Russia‘s economy and military budget depend. Military operations against Iran also threaten the supply of anti-aircraft missiles to the Uranian Patriots. Trump‘s war on Iran means for Russia that “there could never be a more favorable time.” Any pressure Russia might feel to make concessions in order to reach a lasting peace agreement will disappear.
Reuters also reported on Tuesday that the U.S. strike on Iran has angered Russian “hardliners” who are calling for greater intensity in the war against Ukraine. Some hawkish figures publicly demand that Russia abandon the U.S.-pushed peace talks with Ukraine and instead redouble its efforts in the war against Ukraine. They consider the U.S.-Iranian nuclear talks held before the U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran to be a “conspiracy” and also show that the U.S. is “untrustworthy.” The report said that Russian officials still hope that Trump can help Russia end the war against Ukraine on its own terms and facilitate a broader, profitable reconciliation between the U.S. and Russia. According to the report, the strong rhetoric of Russian hawks reflects real unrest within Russia. They believe that the increasingly aggressive U.S. president is weakening Russia‘s influence on the world stage, and that Trump is systematically eliminating Russian allies including Iran, Venezuela, and others.
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said on the same day that the U.S. has not deviated from the “Anchorage consensus” previously reached between Russia and the U.S. on the Ukraine issue, including that the U.S. must renounce NATO membership and resolve territorial issues according to current realities, according to the Russian Interfax on Tuesday. But Europe is trying to force the Trump administration to deviate from these agreements. Europe claims that the core of resolving the Ukraine issue is securing the U.S. security. But deploying Western troops to the U.S. and militarizing the U.S. is contrary to the objectives of Russia‘s special military operation and does not meet Russia’s interests. Russian Presidential Press Secretary Peskov said on Tuesday that Russia has not seen any signs of a change in the U.S. position in negotiations on the Ukraine issue in the context of the U.S. involvement in military operations against Iran.
Currently, Russian-Ukrainian counterattacks and warfare are still ongoing. The Ukrainian air force reported on the 4th that from the evening of the 3rd to the early morning of the 4th, the Russian force launched 149 drones into the Ukrainian territory, and the Ukrainian air defense system intercepted and shot down 129 of them. The Russian defense ministry reported on the 4th that the Russian force continued to launch offensives in various directions such as Sume, Kharkov, Donetsk, and Zaporozhe and repelled the Ukrainian army‘s attacks. Over the past day, the Russian force implemented strikes against Ukrainian energy infrastructure, drone production and launch centers, and temporary Ukrainian army deployment points in 149 regions.