On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Moscow-annexed Crimea to attend a keel-laying event for new warships. At the ceremony, the leader boasted of his country’s response to the current health pandemic as well as its naval and military capabilities.
In his speech at Kerch’s Zaliv shipyard, Putin mentioned that a strong navy is necessary for Russia to defend its regional interests of maintaining stability and strategic balance. He further stressed that Moscow will continue to enhance its naval forces, with plans to increase its fleet of modern ships by 70% by 2027. Monday’s ceremony involved the inauguration of two Project 23900 amphibious assault ships at Zaliv, two Admiral Grigorovich-class stealth ships in St. Petersburg, and two nuclear Yasen M-class submarines in Arkhangelsk.
The Kremlin has prioritized the modernization of its military amid tensions with neighbour Ukraine and its Western allies after it unilaterally annexed Crimea from Kyiv’s control in 2014.
See also: Ukraine to Sue Russia as Putin Blocks Ukrainians From Owning Land in Occupied Crimea
The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs lodged another stern protest to its Russian counterpart against Putin’s presence in the annexed Autonomous Republic of Crimea, which included a visit to the city of Sevastopol. In its statement, the Ministry said that Kyiv considers the Russian leader’s Monday visit, and all previous trips, as a “gross violation of state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and the Russian side’s cynical and demonstrative disregard of the universally recognized norms of international law”. The Ministry also states that the visit is in clear violation of various resolutions by the United Nations (UN) and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). It further condemned the measures taken by Moscow to increase the militarization of Crimean territory, stressing that this poses a major threat to regional security.
While Putin is adamant that Moscow’s moves in Crimea are not responsible for its deteriorating relations with Kyiv, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly signalled that he is willing to walk away from talks if Russia continues to stay resolute on its occupation of Crimea. Zelensky has been domestically criticized for his position to consider negotiations and one-on-one talks with Putin. Earlier this year, Zelensky told the Guardian that Putin keeps rebuffing his proposals for negotiations by referencing the Minsk agreements, which Kyiv signed “under extreme pressure five years ago”.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian media reported the country’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba as saying: “A meeting between Zelensky and Putin in Crimea is possible, but only on one condition: it will take place at the ceremony of raising the Ukrainian flag in Crimea and removing the Russian one.”
Reportedly, the United States is supporting Zelensky in bolstering the country’s navy in order to counter Russia’s growing influence.
See also: ‘Trumpeachment’ and the Future of the Ukraine-Russia Conflict