Moscow (AFP) – The Kremlin said Tuesday there was no concrete plan to end the Ukraine war, days after Russian leader Vladimir Putin had 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 initiated 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, without elaborating, that he believed the war was “heading to an end.” His words spurred confusion, with talks to end Moscow’s offensive so far leading nowhere and Putin 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 was 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 as Russians increasingly show signs of war fatigue, hitting Putin’s domestic approval ratings.
– US ceasefire ends –
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.
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 one person. “The humanitarian ceasefire is over. The special military operation is continuing,” the Kremlin’s Peskov said, using Moscow’s term for its offensive. Moscow’s army announced Kyiv had also restarted its retaliatory attacks on Russia, saying its air defense units had downed 27 Ukrainian drones after the ceasefire expired.
Trump had announced the pause on Friday, hours before Putin presided over the scaled-down military parade in Red Square. AFP journalists in Kyiv heard air sirens and booms echo out over the Ukrainian capital during the attack. “Russia itself chose to end the partial silence that had lasted for several days. Overnight, more than 200 attack drones were launched against Ukraine,” Zelensky 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. Zelensky had said on Monday that fighting with Russia was ongoing despite the truce, accusing Moscow of not wanting to end the war. Russia accused Ukraine of launching drones on its positions during the ceasefire.
© 2024 AFP
