INTERNATIONAL: Russian President Vladimir Putin visited a Moscow military hospital on Wednesday (May 25) to speak with soldiers whom Russian media said had been wounded in Russia's military operation in Ukraine while the Russian government considers withdrawing from WTO and WHO.
The Russian president shook the injured soldiers' hands and thanked them for their service.
One of the soldiers greeted by the Russian president had asked for permission to continue fighting, according to the clinician initially speaking on their behalf - which Putin granted.
It is not known how many Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in what Moscow terms its "special military operation" in the east of Ukraine.
Russia seeks to "liberate" Ukraine and let Ukrainians decide their own future, while Ukraine demands an immediate ceasefire and will not compromise on territorial issues, said former senior officials from both sides on Tuesday as they spoke about their respective country's goals in the prolonged crisis.
The Russian army will "crash" the Ukrainian army but welcome those who do not take orders from Kyiv, said Sergei Markov, a former spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an exclusive interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN).
CGTN also spoke with former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who served from 2014 to 2019.
Poroshenko said Ukraine wants a ceasefire, the release of hostages, withdrawal of Russian troops, and humanitarian corridors in the first place, and he believes the country will not compromise on territorial issues.
Major-General Konashenkov said on Tuesday that in the past 24 hours, the Russian armed forces used high-precision air-based missiles to hit military targets such as Ukrainian command posts, personnel, and military equipment. Meanwhile, the Russian armed forces also destroyed six ammunition plants in Donetsk, including a large ammunition plant that is used to keep the American-made 155mm M777 howitzers.
Russia will continue its special military operation in Ukraine despite the sanctions and increased Western assistance to Kyiv, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday.
Shoigu added that Russia was intentionally slowing its offensive in Ukraine "to avoid civilian casualties."
Additionally, the Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday that the de-mining of the port of Mariupol and the coast of the Sea of Azov was completed.
Meanwhile, the Russian government is considering withdrawal from a series of international bodies, including the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), as these international organizations have neglected obligations towards Russia, the Russian Duma's Deputy Speaker Pyotr Tolstoy said on Monday.
"Our previous western partners, in fact, have not fulfilled a series of international obligations, including illegal sanctions against Russia's foreign reserves, assets of Russian people, and trade. From our own perspective, we do not want to honor the obligations as well. These obligations have been existing in our law for 30 years, so we are planning to have relevant committees in our parliament analyze the legal documents of those international organizations, to see whether they meet the current interest of Russia. The result of this work may be that Russia will no longer fulfill some international obligations," said Pyotr.
Some WTO members, including the United States, the European Union, and Japan, revoked Russia's "most favored nation" trade status, following the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Some countries imposed sanctions against Russia due to the conflict.
In response to these, Russia is discussing withdrawing from the trade organization.
"These trade embargo and unlawful sanctions against Russia run counter to WTO rules so does the move to close markets towards Russian products. These contradict WTO rules," said Pyotr.
After withdrawing from WTO, Russia could stabilize the domestic economy and currency, and will open its door wider to Asian and African partners, Pyotr added.
"We have to reshape our economy due to sanctions imposed by Western Europe and the United States, and we are accelerating the process. We will rapidly proceed to open our market towards partners in Asia, the Pacific region, and in Africa, to fill the market gap caused by the sanctions," Pyotr said.
As for the withdrawal from WHO, Pyotr said it depends on whether the supernational power of the international agencies is used against a particular country, such as Russia, adding that Russia's lower house is discussing it.
Pyotr said that Russia will analyze the decisions made by those international organizations, and will reject them if it is a politicized decisions.
Russia will proceed with their discussions in a way that does not harm the interests of others or create damage, but at the same time allows Russia to develop without any kind of restrictions, especially political restrictions.
