Ukrainian authorities accused Russia of seeking to undermine its new military chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, with a spate of media portrayals highlighting the general’s past in Russia as a Soviet officer.

The European Union has proposed new trade restrictions on about two dozen firms, including three based in China, accused of supporting Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine. 

Poland plans to inspect grain shipments from Ukraine after farmers blockaded border crossings and Prime Minister Donald Tusk vowed to defend domestic producers against unfair competition.  

Zelensky plans Western European tour to lobby for Ukraine aid

Volodymyr Zelensky is planning a tour of Western European capitals around this week’s Munich Security Conference, according to people with knowledge of the matter, as the Ukrainian president seeks military support amid the funding fight in Washington.

Zelensky would probably visit Paris and Berlin as part of the trip, the people said, emphasising that the plans still weren’t confirmed. The Ukrainian leader was expected to attend the annual conference in Munich, which runs from Thursday to Sunday, according to the people.

Representatives of the French and German governments declined to comment. Zelensky’s office doesn’t comment on his travel schedule out of safety concerns.

As supplies of ammunition dwindle, Zelensky needs to make the case for faster military aid to push back against Russia’s invasion, one of the people said. He was likely to push for talks on security guarantees, the person said.

Zelensky and his military leadership have blamed the failure of last year’s counteroffensive to break through Russia’s strong defence lines on delays in the delivery of Western military equipment. More than $60-billion of US support remains stalled amid objections by some Republicans in the run-up to the presidential election.

A pause in the fighting would give Russia the opportunity to again replenish troops and military stockpiles, enabling it to strike with greater force, Zelensky has said. He is seeking security guarantees with the Group of Seven countries in case the current war ends and Russia attacks again. Ukraine signed its first such pact with the UK last month. 

In his daily address, Zelensky said he was preparing to share Ukraine’s vision in Munich for what he described as a “decisive year”. 

“Cooperation matters,” the Ukrainian president said. “And I am grateful to everyone in the world who realises this, to everyone who helps, to every leader, every state that seeks a fair peace as much as Ukrainians do.”

Ukraine says army chief targeted in Russian smear campaign

Ukrainian authorities accused Russia of seeking to undermine its new military chief with a spate of media portrayals highlighting the general’s past in Russia as a Soviet officer.

The coverage of Ukrainian army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi was aimed at sowing division within the military and discrediting the general by associating him with his Soviet past and his relatives in Russia, Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council said on Telegram on Monday.

President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed Syrskyi, who led Ukraine’s ground forces in defending Kyiv and reclaiming a swathe of the northeastern Kharkiv region in 2022, to replace his popular top commander, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi. As Syrskyi is tasked with gaining the widespread trust of Ukrainian soldiers and the public, the council called the media campaign Moscow-backed propaganda. 

“Russians are struggling to portray the new commander-in-chief as a Soviet and a Russian,” the council’s disinformation unit said in a statement. “For this purpose, they are looking for his relatives in the Russian Federation, ‘family friends,’ getting comments from them and spreading the comments over the information space with a certain context.” 

A Ukrainian military spokesperson said the Russian campaign was motivated by Syrskyi having “humiliated” them on the battlefield. It aimed to “shake our society,” the spokesperson, Serhiy Cherevatyi, said. 

The accusation reflects concern that the guilt-by-association line of attack could have an effect on Syrskyi, who lacks a broad public profile in Ukraine compared with the outsize Zaluzhnyi, who had a tense relationship with Zelensky. Born in Soviet Russia in 1965, Syrskyi graduated from a military academy in Moscow and speaks Ukrainian with a heavy Russian accent. 

Although Ukrainians having relatives in Russia isn’t uncommon, the reports seek to portray an estranged son of the Soviet Union now leading the fight against the country. One report quotes a brother claiming he has no contact with Syrskyi; another purports to quote a military university classmate reminiscing about marching in Red Square past Lenin’s mausoleum with the Ukrainian commander.

EU proposes curbs on three Chinese firms for aiding Russia

The European Union has proposed new trade restrictions on about two dozen firms, including three based in China, accused of supporting Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine. 

If adopted, it would be the first time the EU has imposed restrictions on companies in mainland China since Russia invaded Ukraine. The list also includes companies in Hong Kong, Serbia, India and Turkey, according to a draft of the proposal seen by Bloomberg.

The restrictions would ban European firms from trading with the listed firms as part of the bloc’s efforts to crack down on Russia’s ability to get its hands on sanctioned goods through companies in third countries. The EU had previously proposed listing several Chinese firms but those proposals were dropped following resistance from some member states and after Beijing provided assurances.

The issue is of critical importance to the EU, which counts Beijing as one of its most important trade partners, and in particular for Germany, for whom China is the biggest market for carmakers including Volkswagen.

EU sanctions need the backing of all member states to be adopted and could change before then.  

The mostly technology and electronics companies are accused of “contributing to Russia’s military and technological enhancement or to the development of Russia’s defence and security sector,” according to the document.

The proposals include three Chinese firms and one each from India, Sri Lanka, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Turkey and Hong Kong. Their inclusion in the proposed list “does not entail any attribution of responsibility for their actions to the jurisdiction in which they are operating”, the document says.   

Poland to inspect Ukraine’s grain as border tensions grow

Poland plans to inspect grain shipments from Ukraine after farmers blockaded border crossings and Prime Minister Donald Tusk vowed to defend domestic producers against unfair competition.   

“We need to check carefully all the grain transiting from Ukraine,” Deputy Agriculture Minister and former farmers activist Michal  Kolodziejczak said. “I’ll force the introduction of such regulations. It’s ‘to be or not to be’ for Poland and its agriculture.”

Tensions at the border were running high after farmers on Friday began their month-long protest against what they describe as uncontrolled influx of food products from Ukraine and to oppose the European Union’s climate policies. Poland only allows shipments to cross its territory on the way to other destinations.

Polish media reported on Sunday that local farmers dumped grain from Ukrainian trucks on the road near Dorohusk border crossing, prompting Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba to call on the government in Warsaw to hold those responsible to account.  

Last year’s protests led the previous government to ban Ukrainian grain to placate farmers before a parliamentary election. The restrictions have raised tensions between Poland and Ukraine, which sees exports of agricultural products as the key source of financing in its war against Russia’s invasion.

A former European Council President, Tusk came to power in December pledging to rally flagging support for Ukraine among Western allies. However, he has declined to remove the ban on grain imports and said unfettered access to agricultural products from Poland’s eastern neighbour may stoke anti-Ukrainian sentiment. DM