Moscow (AFP) – The Kremlin said Tuesday there was no concrete plan to end the Ukraine war, days after Russian leader Vladimir Putin suggested Europe’s worst conflict since WWII could be winding down. Moscow and Kyiv resumed attacks overnight after the end of a three-day ceasefire proclaimed by US President Donald Trump, which each side accused the other of violating. After slamming NATO and wishing his forces a swift advance, Putin at the weekend said that he believed the war was “heading to an end,” without elaborating. Trump echoed this on Tuesday, saying the end of the war was “getting closer” and that he could potentially visit Russia this year.
Putin’s words spurred confusion, with talks to end Moscow’s offensive so far leading nowhere and the Russian leader showing no sign of backing down over his maximalist demands in Ukraine. The Kremlin clarified there were “no specifics” about Putin’s statement. “The president said that Russia remains open to contact and that work has been done in a trilateral format,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “The accumulated groundwork in terms of the peace process allows us to say that the end is drawing near… But in this context, it is not possible at the moment to speak about any specifics,” Peskov said. Putin would only agree to meet Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky outside of Russia if it were to sign a final peace deal, Peskov added. The Russian leader made the remarks after a scaled-back Victory Day in Moscow, where nerves were high over the risk of a Ukrainian drone attack, and with Russians increasingly showing signs of war fatigue, hitting Putin’s domestic approval ratings.
– US ceasefire ends –
Ukraine said Russia ended the three-day ceasefire by launching more than 200 attack drones that damaged energy facilities and apartment buildings, killing at least four people across the country. One Russian strike on a residential building killed two people and seriously wounded a baby, who lost a leg, in Kryvyi Rig, Zelensky’s home city, local authorities said. “After the end of the three-day partial ceasefire, Russia continues to kill and maim Ukrainians,” said Zelensky, calling the strike on Kryvyi Rig “cynical.” Moscow’s army announced Kyiv had also restarted its retaliatory strikes on Russia, saying its air defense units had downed 71 Ukrainian drones after the ceasefire expired. Ukrainian drones hit a train station in Russia’s western Bryansk region, wounding two railway workers, regional governor Alexander Bogomaz said. Local officials in the Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk ordered the partial evacuation of families with children from parts of the frontline city of Nikopol. “Russia must end this war, and it is Russia that must take the step toward a real, lasting ceasefire,” Zelensky added. The Kremlin, meanwhile, said it was Kyiv that must give in.
As is usual during the short-term truces throughout the four-year war, both sides accused each other of mass violations. Negotiations on ending the war have so far led nowhere, largely sidelined by the Iran conflict. Trump’s ceasefire announcement, however, had raised some hope that US-led talks could be resumed. Russia’s war against Ukraine has led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and forced millions to flee their homes. Russia has repeatedly urged Ukraine to pull out of areas in the eastern Donbas region it still controls as a prerequisite of any peace deal. Kyiv has rejected the demand.
© 2024 AFP
