The EU summit has become very special, after the Wagner incident, Yevgeny Prigo | EU | summit

The EU is scheduled to hold its summer summit in Brussels, Belgium from June 29th to 30th. This is the first summit held by Western countries after the Wagner incident in Russia. Public opinion generally believes that the impact of the Wagner incident on the Russia-Ukraine conflict will become the primary topic of this meeting.

On May 6th, people rested outside the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zheng Huansong

The impact of the Wagner incident is yet to be evaluated

The original agenda of this summit included the situation in Ukraine, economic situation, security and defense, immigration policy, and policy towards China. However, the Voice of Germany reported that the Wagner incident broke the original agenda, and this meeting will focus on the impact of the incident on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Estonian Prime Minister Karas recently stated that although Russia's domestic issues are not on the agenda of this meeting or in any draft written documents, EU leaders will definitely discuss the Wagner incident. She said that many people have different views on how this event affects the trend of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

This is a photo taken on June 24th in Rostov, Russia, of armed members and armored vehicles of the Wagner organization. Xinhua News Agency/TASS News Agency

The EU Foreign Ministers held a meeting in Luxembourg on the 26th to discuss relevant issues. German Foreign Minister Berbok stated that the risks posed by this incident are "yet to be assessed", but EU countries need to continue to provide support for Ukraine.

According to the agenda, EU leaders will discuss the latest progress of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the EU's further support for Ukraine. Ukrainian President Zelensky will attend the meeting via video link on the afternoon of the 29th.

Local media reported that the EU summit will also explore the impact of following the founder of the Wagner organization, Yevgeny Prigo, as an armed person entering Belarus, on European security.

The Russo Ukrainian battlefield continues to tug at war

The Russian side said that after the Wagner incident subsided, Russian military operations in Ukraine were not affected.

On the 28th, Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson Konashenkov reported that in the past day, the Russian military has successfully repelled five Ukrainian attacks in the Donetsk region, including Archomovsk and Petrovskoye, while actively defending, killing over 240 Ukrainian military personnel. The Russian Air Force also used high-precision weapons to strike the Ukrainian military's oil processing and energy supply storage facilities. Konashenkov said that the Ukrainian army has also attempted to launch offensive operations in the direction of South Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia.

Prior to this, on the 27th, Russian President Putin met with approximately 2500 representatives from powerful departments such as the Ministry of Defense, Federal Security Agency, National Guard, and Ministry of Internal Affairs who participated in the suppression of the rebellion at the Church Square in the Kremlin. He delivered a live television speech thanking them for their bravery, loyalty to their duties, and loyalty to the Russian people.

He praised the strong departments for ensuring the reliable operation of the most important command center and strategic facilities, maintaining border security, and ensuring stability behind the Ukrainian participating forces, so that "we did not have to withdraw some combat units from the special military operation zone" to deal with the rebellion.

Belarusian President Lukashenko confirmed on the 27th that Prigo arrived in Belarus on the day of his inauguration. The Ministry of National Defense of Belarus intends to add Wagner armed personnel to the Belarusian armed forces.

The United States and the West have added weapons for transportation

The US government announced on the 27th that it will provide Ukraine with an additional $500 million in military assistance to help the Ukrainian military launch a counterattack and enhance its air defense capabilities.

According to the list released by the US Department of Defense on the 27th, this batch of aid includes Patriot anti-aircraft missiles, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, ammunition compatible with the Hamas rocket system, 30 Bradley infantry tanks, 25 Streak armored vehicles, Tao anti tank missiles, and Javelin anti tank missiles.

This is the Pentagon captured on August 3, 2021 in Arlington, Virginia, USA. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Jie

Many people are calling on the European Union to continue providing military aid to Ukraine. According to the meeting schedule, leaders of EU member states will have lunch with NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg. On the 27th, Stoltenberg said in The Hague that Russia cannot be underestimated due to the Wagner incident, and it is very important to continue providing assistance to Ukraine now.

Igor Korochenko, editor in chief of the Russian Defense magazine, believes that in the next two to three years, the West will not stop increasing its supply of modern weapons to the Ukrainian military, including providing them with more long-range and dangerous weapons.

Video: Chen Qiang, An Xiaomeng, Yellow River, Meng Jing, Geng Pengyu, Ma Yinxiao, Ostrovidov