Today the G20 meeting in Bali will focus more on an agenda that will make the session unique from its predecessors. Parallel to the G20 summit, Russia attacked Ukraine in the Black Sea on Snake Island at what sounded like lightning speed. The establishment of the American agenda left many to wonder why the U.S. is fearful of legitimacy. A senior U.S. State Department official said that the U.S. is determined to sway any attempts to legitimize Russia’s “brutalizing” of Ukraine.
The official accompanying U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken established America’s mission before their arrival, “The most important thing is that we maintain the focus on the G20 event. We’re very determined to do that and not let any disruptions or interruptions occur. But I think we also want to ensure that nothing in any way, shape, or form lends any conceivable legitimacy to what Russia is doing in brutalizing Ukraine.”
The comments suggest that a walkout will be less probable at a meeting when Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet with some of the ferocious critics of Moscow’s assault for the first time this year. Although the acts taken out by the Russian Defense Ministry might leave Lavrov in anything but good graces.
Russia said that its departure from Snake Island last week was a “gesture of goodwill” meant to demonstrate that it was not impeding efforts by the U.N. to establish a humanitarian corridor that would allow food to be transferred from Ukraine. However, today Russia’s Defence Ministry announced that following Ukraine’s landing on Snake Island, with intentions of raising the Ukrainian flag to celebrate a victory, came a Russian warplane strike where Russia claims an unspecified number of Ukrainian troops were killed.
In a world where actions speak louder than words, Ukraine is, unfortunately, accustomed to atrocities. Russian defense ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said, “At about 5 a.m., several Ukrainian servicemen landed on the island from a motor boat and took pictures with the flag. An aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces immediately launched a strike with high-precision missiles on Snake Island, resulting from which part of the Ukrainian military personnel was destroyed.”
The small island was captured by Russia in February and has a strategic placement due to its proximity to sea lanes and Ukraine’s port of Odesa. It remains unknown how many Ukrainian troops were killed or injured; however, the intent of Russia seems to align with Russia’s past acts.
As the G20 meeting continues through Friday, Russia continues to call its actions in Ukraine a “special military operation,” It seems Russia’s Lavrov will find himself in the hot seat with freshly angered world leaders, and the interest of many is peaked.
