Putin sets conditions for ceasefire. Ukraine must withdraw from the annexed parts

Putin labeled the conference in Switzerland as yet another ploy to divert everyone’s attention, reverse the cause and effect of the Ukrainian crisis (and) put the discussion on the wrong track.

His demands came in a speech at the Russian Foreign Ministry and focused on what he called a final solution to the conflict rather than freezing it. He stressed that the Kremlin is ready to start negotiations without delay.

Broader demands for peace that Putin listed included Ukraine recognizing Crimea as part of Russia, maintaining the country’s non-nuclear status, limiting its military power and protecting the interests of Russian-speaking population. These must all be part of basic international agreements, and all Western sanctions against Russia must be lifted, Putin said.

We urge you to turn this tragic page of history and start, step by step, to restore unity between Russia and Ukraine and in Europe in general, he said.

Putin’s comments, addressed to a group of somber Foreign Ministry officials and some senior lawmakers, represented a rare occasion in which he clearly laid out his conditions for ending the war in Ukraine, but made no new demands. The Kremlin has previously said Kiev should recognize its territorial gains and abandon its bid to join NATO.

Zelenskyy, in Italy for the G7 meeting, said Putin’s proposal was not new and was in the form of an ultimatum, comparing it to Adolf Hitler’s actions in seizing territory that led to World War II.

What Putin is demanding is to give them part of our territories, the occupied and the unoccupied territories, while talking about different regions of our country, he said.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called Putin’s plan manipulative, absurd and intended to deceive the international community, undermine diplomatic efforts aimed at achieving a just peace and undermine the unity of the world majority around the goals and principles of the UN -Charter to distribute.

In addition to joining NATO, Ukraine also wants Russian troops to leave its territory, including the Crimean Peninsula that was illegally annexed in 2014; the restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine; and that Russia be held responsible for war crimes and that Moscow pay reparations to Kiev.

Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. After Ukrainian forces thwarted a Russian attack on the capital, the fighting was largely concentrated in the south and east, where Moscow illegally annexed four regions, although it does not fully control any region . theirs.

Zelenskiy adviser Mychailo Podolyak said on social media that there was nothing new from Putin and that the Russian leader was just portraying the standard aggressor, which has been heard many times.

There is nothing new in it, no real peace proposals and no desire to end the war. But there is a desire not to pay for this war and to continue it in new forms. It’s all a complete sham, Podolyak wrote on X.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at NATO headquarters in Brussels that Putin has illegally occupied sovereign Ukrainian territory. He is not in a position to dictate to Ukraine what to do to bring about peace.

Austin added that Putin started this war without provocation. He could end it today if he chooses.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg added that this is not a peace proposal. This is a proposal of more aggression, more occupation, and in a sense it shows that Russia’s goal is to control Ukraine.

Putin insisted that Kiev completely withdraw from all four annexed regions, effectively ceding them to Moscow within their administrative borders. In Zaporizhia in the southeast, Russia still does not control the region’s administrative capital, with a pre-war population of around 700,000; in the neighboring Kherson region, Moscow withdrew from the largest city and capital of the same name in November 2022.

Putin said that if Kiev and Western capitals reject his offer, it is their business, their political and moral responsibility to continue the bloodshed.

The Kremlin has repeatedly signaled its willingness to hold peace talks with Kiev and has blamed the West for undermining its efforts to end the conflict.

Putin went further on Friday, claiming that his forces never intended to storm the Ukrainian capital Kiev even as they approached the city.

In essence it was nothing more than an operation to force the Ukrainian regime into peace. The troops were there to push the Ukrainian side to negotiate, to try to find an acceptable solution, he said.

Moscow withdrew from Kiev in March 2022, describing it as a gesture of goodwill as peace talks between the two began, but the withdrawal took place amid fierce Ukrainian resistance that significantly slowed Russia’s advance on the battlefield.

Putin also claimed that he told a foreign official that same month that he did not rule out withdrawing troops from the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions and returning occupied parts of them to Ukraine, as long as Kiev allowed Russia a strong land link. to Crimea.

He said the official planned to take that proposal to Kiev, which Moscow welcomed as it generally welcomed efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict. But the Kremlin subsequently annexed both regions, along with Donetsk and Luhansk provinces, citing the results of mock referendums it organized there. Putin mentioned this and said: The matter is closed forever and is no longer up for discussion.

During Friday’s fighting, Russian defenses shot down 87 Ukrainian drones, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said. Most of them were launched against the Rostov region, home to Russia’s southern military command, but no deaths or damage were reported in one of the largest Ukrainian drone barrages. from the war.

In Russia’s border region of Belgorod, part of a residential building in the town of Shebekino collapsed after Ukrainian shelling, Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. Three people were injured, he said.

Ukraine’s military has fallen behind in recent months, with troops outnumbering those of the Kremlin and experiencing shortages of ammunition and weapons due to delays in promised Western military aid.

Russia has targeted Ukraine with drones, especially the power grid. It fired 14 missiles and 17 Shahed drones overnight, the Ukrainian air force said. Air defense systems downed all drones and seven missiles, the report said.

The attacks injured six people in the Donetsk region, where residential buildings were hit, officials said.

A Russian drone hit a bus near the village of Esman in the northern Sumy region, injuring three women. Authorities said there were 20 passengers on the bus at the time.

Also on Friday, Russia returned the bodies of 254 soldiers to Ukraine, Kiev said. Once identified, the bodies will be returned to relatives, the Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said.

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