Russia ruled out a quick end to its invasion of Ukraine, after the Ukrainian government and some Western countries received with skepticism a Russian announcement of a reduction in military operations thanks to the advances in the peace negotiations. The spokesman for the Russian presidency, Dmitri Peskovheld that the negotiations held on Tuesday by Moscow and kyiv in Turkey they didn’t throw up anything “very promising” and that there is still “a lot of work” to do. For his part, the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelenskysaid I saw no reason to believe Russia’s announcement that it would reduce its military activity around kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, and also northern Chernigov, given what continues to happen on the ground.
I followed the Russia-Ukraine conflict, minute by minute
Negotiators in kyiv and Moscow on Tuesday presented the most detailed proposals yet for what could be the framework to end a conflict that has left thousands dead and forced more than four million people to flee Ukraine. At the dialogue round in Istanbul, the first in person in two weeks, the Ukrainian delegation presented proposals to a peace deal that includes Ukraine declaring itself neutral in exchange for various other countries guaranteeing its security.
Germany offers itself as guarantor
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed in a telephone conversation with Zelensky Berlin’s readiness to become the guarantor of the country’s security in case a peace agreement is reached, an offer that Italy also ratified. The German head of government also spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, from whom he obtained a promise that the European Union (EU) will be able to continue paying for Russian gas in euros and not in rubles as the Kremlin had previously announced.
Returning to the negotiations, the Russian Deputy Defense Minister, Alexander Fominpresent in Turkey, announced a “radical” reduction in military operations around kyiv and Chernigov to “increase confidence in the face of more talks”. As for the next steps in the dialogue, the Russian chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinski, said that his delegation would take the Ukrainian proposals to President Putin and that Moscow would then give a response, but he did not specify when.
“At the moment, we cannot report anything very promising or a breakthrough. There is a lot of work to be done,” Putin and Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov told the press. In any case, Peskov described as “positive” the fact that the Ukrainian delegation “has finally begun to formulate its proposals in a concrete way and put them in writing”.
Zelensky calls for “not letting your guard down”
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 after the United States rejected its demands that the former Soviet republic renounce NATO membership of the Washington-led military alliance, something Moscow sees as a serious threat. In a video broadcast in the Ukrainian night, Zelenski said that the negotiations in Turkey had thrown signs that could be described as “positive”, but clarified that “those signals do not silence the explosions of the Russian bombing”.
The president warned the world and the Ukrainian citizens that there is no need to hurry, he said that Russia had to give in by force of the resistance of the national troops and that Ukraine should not “let down its guard” because Russia can still launch attacks. “We don’t believe anyone, not a single pretty phrase. We won’t hand over anything. We will fight for every meter of our territory,” Zelenski added, emphasizing: “Freedom must be as armed as tyranny.”
mistrust of allies
The United States and other Western allies of Ukraine expressed doubts about Russia’s intentions. “We will see if they comply,” US President Joe Biden declared on Tuesday after speaking with the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy, who promised to maintain sanctions on Russia and called for “not lowering our guard” against Moscow. . Twenty-four hours later, Biden promised an additional $500 million in aid to Ukraine while speaking to Zelenskiy on the phone, the White House reported.
Ukraine will use this money to strengthen its economy and pay expenses related to public administration, such as salaries and public services, the White House Communications Director, Kate Bedingfield, explained at a press conference on Wednesday. Bedingfield recalled that the United States has offered more than two billion dollars in aid to Ukraine since Biden came to power in January 2021.
The British Deputy Prime Minister, Dominic Raabsaid for his part that the UK judges “the Russian military machine by its actions, not its words”. “Obviously there is some skepticism. The door of diplomacy will always be left ajar, but I don’t think we can trust what comes out of the mouth of Putin’s war machine,” Raab told Sky News.
Along the same lines, the French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, was skeptical about Russia’s willingness to end the war in Ukraine and stated that there had been “no progress on any issue” in the negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv. “I believe in actions, not in words, if tomorrow morning President Putin determines that he gives up the siege of Mariupol, allows humanitarian aid to enter and allows the civilian population to circulate freely, then I will say: ‘Yes, there is progress,'” Le Drian said in an interview with France 24.
Last week, Russia said it had completed the first stage of its offensive in Ukraine and was now going to regroup forces to achieve its “main objective” of conquering the eastern Ukraine region known as Donbass. More than 14,000 people have died in Donbass in fighting between the Ukrainian army and separatist militias up in arms against kyiv since 2014, who are now fighting alongside the invading Russian troops against the Ukrainians.
In this framework, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bacheletassessed that the bombings and attacks against populated areas of Ukraine generate “immense concern” and could constitute “war crimes”. Bachelet recalled that “the lives of millions of people have been disrupted by being forced to flee their homes or live in basements and bomb shelters while their cities are harassed and destroyed.”