Irish Examiner view: New diplomatic efforts welcome

Zelenskyy visits

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Chequers, the country house of the serving prime minister in Buckinghamshire.

An ongoing charm offensive by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy across Europe in the last few days seems set to be a precursor to the country’s long-anticipated military counter-offensive against invading Russian forces.

In England yesterday, following high-profile stops in Rome, Berlin, and Paris over the weekend, the Ukrainian leader garnered further moral support from prime minister Rishi Sunak as well as promises of much more military hardware, making his whirlwind European tour a highly successful one in terms of widespread renewed backing.

While much has been speculated about the prospects a much-bolstered Ukrainian army would have of taking back territory annexed by Russia in the coming months, there is still no doubt the country is militarily in a better position now than was the case even a few short weeks ago.

The arrival of Leopard 2 tanks, armoured vehicles, attack drones, surface-to-air missiles, and a vast array of munitions, has put Ukraine on a much better footing. 

These, combined with the country’s already established fearlessness in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds, has completely changed the complexion of a war in which nobody expected such sterling resistance.

Few military experts expect the Ukrainian counter-offensive to become a slam-dunk against Russia, but what is becoming apparent is that even if they were to achieve only limited success, they could pave the way towards a political resolution of the war.

Later this week, the G7 group of nations — America, Germany, Italy, France, Britain, Japan, and Canada — as well as the European Union — will meet in Hiroshima, Japan, to discuss the ongoing bloodshed and look for new diplomatic avenues to end the war.

That, along with the news that the Chinese — represented by envoy Li Hui — will this week visit Ukraine and Russia in an attempt to find a negotiated peace, is a welcome ratcheting up of diplomatic efforts to bring both parties to the table to try to bring an end to the bloodshed.

Once again, however, it will be the success or otherwise of the Ukrainian efforts on the battlefield that will ultimately force the Russians into peace talks.

The next phase of this awful war will, hopefully, create the momentum for diplomacy to prevail.