What the week of Bürgenstock left on the table

What did Ukraine's partners actually deliver in the days around the Swiss peace summit? By 19 June 2024, the answer combined money, diplomacy and sanctions, set against a front line where Russia was still claiming ground.

The summit and the competing offer

The two-day Global Peace Summit, devoted to Ukraine's Peace Formula, ended on 16 June 2024 at the Bürgenstock Resort in Switzerland. It was hosted by the Swiss president, Viola Amherd, and drew representatives from 92 nations and 8 international organisations. Russia did not take part. The Peace Formula is a platform Ukraine proposed to the world community to reach a just end to the war.

Two days before the summit closed, on 14 June 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he was ready for a ceasefire if Ukraine withdrew from territories Russia claimed and halted its accession to NATO. Ukraine rejected the offer. The two positions, one built around Kyiv's formula and one around territorial and alliance conditions, stood far apart.

Money for the war effort

The financial picture was firmer. On 13 June 2024, leaders at the G7 summit agreed to lend Ukraine US$50 billion, using interest from Russia's frozen central bank assets as collateral. On 15 June, the United States announced a $1.5 billion aid package focused primarily on Ukraine's energy industry and humanitarian assistance. On 16 June, Norway said it would give 1.1 billion kroner (US$103 million) to help repair Ukraine's energy infrastructure and secure electricity supply before winter.

Taken together, these announcements show a clear emphasis on energy. Both the American and Norwegian pledges were directed at the power sector, and the Norwegian one was explicitly tied to the coming winter.

Sanctions friction

Not everything moved forward. On 14 June 2024, Germany vetoed a European Union sanctions package that would have stopped EU members from re-exporting Russian liquefied natural gas from EU ports and stopped EU companies from selling sanctioned products to Russia. The veto showed that agreement on financing did not automatically extend to tighter restrictions on Russia.

The front line and other signals

On 16 June 2024, Russia claimed it had captured the village of Zahirne in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. On 13 June, a Russian warship and a nuclear-powered submarine carried out drills in the Caribbean Sea simulating a missile strike on enemy ships, after passing near the coast of Florida on their way to Havana, Cuba.

Inside Ukraine, on 16 June, hundreds of LGBTQ+ troops of the Armed Forces and supporters marched in central Kyiv to demand legal reforms for more same-sex partnership rights. They did so despite opposition from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and counter-protesters.

What it meant

As of 19 June 2024, Ukraine had secured substantial financing and wide attendance at a summit that Russia skipped. Its adversary, meanwhile, offered a ceasefire on terms Kyiv rejected, and a sanctions measure had been blocked by one EU member. Diplomacy and funding were advancing on separate tracks from the fighting.