Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, stated on Tuesday that his country could discuss peace with Ukraine, but he ruled out speaking with Volodymyr Zelensky, who he called “illegitimate”.
The Ukrainian leader responded by saying that Putin was “afraid” of negotiations and was using “cynical tricks” to prolong the nearly three-year conflict.
Since taking office on January 20, US President Donald Trump has put pressure on both sides, threatening tougher sanctions against Russia, and claiming that Zelensky is prepared to work out a “deal.”
“If (Zelensky) wants to participate in the negotiations, I will allocate people to take part”, Putin said, calling the Ukrainian leader “illegitimate” because his presidential term expired during martial law.
“If there is a desire to negotiate and find a compromise, let anyone lead the negotiations there… Naturally, we will strive for what suits us, what corresponds to our interests”, he added.
Zelensky claimed that while efforts to end the fighting were possible, the Kremlin chief was repressing efforts to stop them.
“Today, Putin once again confirmed that he is afraid of negotiations, afraid of strong leaders, and does everything possible to prolong the war”, Zelensky wrote on X.
Kyiv has warned Russia against excluding it from any US-Russian peace talks, accusing Putin of wanting to “manipulate” Trump.
– ‘ Everything would be over ‘ –
Putin added that if the West stopped supporting Kyiv, the conflict would end in less than two months.
If the money and, in a general sense, the bullets run out, they won’t be around for a month. In a month or two, Putin said in a statement to a state TV reporter.
Despite Trump’s promise to implement a quick ceasefire once in office, the conflict has not shown any signs of waning.
The Russian military claimed Moscow had launched an overnight drone attack of its own, while Russia announced on Wednesday that it had downed more than 100 Ukrainian drones during an overnight attack.
Russia’s army said Tuesday that its forces had captured a large village in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, the latest territorial gain for Moscow’s advancing troops.
The Russian defence ministry said its forces had “liberated” the village of Dvorichna, which had a pre-conflict population of more than 3, 000.
The village, located across the strategic Oskil river, was seized by Moscow at the start of its full-scale military offensive in 2022, before being retaken by Kyiv months later in a swift counter-offensive.
Russian forces were advance on the flanks of Chasiv Yar, a strategic hilltop town that was home to around 12, 000 people before the conflict, according to Ukrainian military bloggers with connections to the defense ministry.
Ukraine’s army has been pushed back over the past year, outgunned and outmanned by Russia’s troops across the 1, 000-kilometre (600-mile) front line.
Ukraine’s government dismissed a deputy defence minister in charge of weapons purchases on Tuesday, after the defence minister accused him of having “failed” to ensure the “timely supply of ammunition” to soldiers.
Source: Channels TV
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