Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky predicted “history will be made” in an effort to take the first steps towards peace, although experts and critics do not expect any major breakthroughs because Russia will not be on board.
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On the second day of the two-day International Peace Summit on Ukraine, working groups are expected to discuss nuclear safety, food security and humanitarian assistance.
Representatives of more than 90 countries and international organisations are taking part in the summit, which takes place in the Bürgenstock resort in central Switzerland.
Nuclear safety has been a concern for European leaders since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
Russian forces took control of the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant in March 2022 and currently occupy the plant.
It is the largest nuclear facility in Europe and provided 30% of Ukraine’s electricity before the war, but since September 2022 has stopped generating electricity for the national grid.
But intermittent fighting around the plant continues, with International Atomic Energy Agency director-general Rafael Grossi warning in April that an accident was dangerously close.
The IAEA is sending rotating teams of inspectors to the site from late 2022 onwards, and Grossi warned that such “reckless attacks must stop immediately.”
“Two years of war have put a huge strain on the nuclear safety of the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant,” he said, adding that “all seven pillars of the IAEA’s nuclear safety and security are at risk.”
In February 2022, Russian forces also took control of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, site of a devastating nuclear disaster in 1986, but abandoned the plant in March of the same year.
Food Security
In February, the Center for Strategic and International Studies said, “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has triggered the largest military-related increase in global food insecurity in at least a century.”
Ukraine is known as the “breadbasket of Europe” and its fertile soil has made it one of the world’s top three grain exporters, but its supply lines are facing major disruptions.
Russia frequently targets Ukraine’s agricultural sector, including attacks on productive infrastructure, agricultural land, fields and warehouses.
Russia’s occupation of the Crimean Peninsula and its Black Sea Fleet based there also affect maritime supply routes through the Bosphorus to the Mediterranean.
In July 2022, Turkey and the United Nations brokered an agreement between Russia and Ukraine that allowed for the safe export of Ukrainian grain through three Black Sea ports. Around 33 million tons of grain were exported under the agreement, but the deal collapsed last July when Russia withdrew, expressing dissatisfaction with the terms governing its exports.
Last year, Ukraine became the world’s most mined country, with hidden munitions reducing agricultural productivity.
Last March, the European Union, Kyiv University of Economics, the United Nations and the World Bank estimated total losses and damages to Ukraine’s agriculture sector at $40.2 billion (€37.5 billion).
“History is being made”
On the first day of the summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky predicted “history will be made” in an effort to take a first step towards peace, although experts and critics said they could not expect much progress without Russia’s participation.
At the start of the summit, President Zelenskyy gave a short statement to reporters together with Swiss President Viola Amherd, calling the meeting a success, saying, “We have succeeded in bringing back to the world the idea that through joint efforts it is possible to stop wars and establish a just peace.”
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Although Russia did not attend, President Vladimir Putin took the unusual step on Friday of outlining the terms for ending the war, but his proposal included no new demands and Kiev slammed it as “manipulative” and “unreasonable.”
Putin told Russian diplomats and officials on Friday he would “immediately” order a ceasefire and begin negotiations if Ukraine abandons its NATO membership application and begins withdrawing its troops in 2022 from four territories illegally annexed by Moscow.
Putin’s demands are unacceptable to Ukraine, but analysts say Kiev is currently in no position to negotiate on a strong footing.
