Europeans accuse Putin of feigning interest in peace after talks with US envoys
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine and its European allies accused Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday of feigning interest in peace efforts after the incident. five hour speech Talks with US envoys in the Kremlin made no progress.
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the Russian leader “must put an end to the lies and bloodshed and be ready to come to the table and support a just and lasting peace.” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called on Putin to “stop wasting the world’s time.”
The remarks reflect the high tensions and deep gulf that remains between Russia on one side and Ukraine and its European allies on the other over how to end the war that Moscow started by invading its neighbor nearly four years ago.
A day earlier, Putin had accused the Europeans of sabotaging the nuclear attack. US-led peace efforts – and warned that Russia would be ready for war with Europe if provoked.
Since Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022, European governments, along with the United States, have spent billions of dollars to support Kiev financially and militarily. However, under President Donald Trump, the United States reduced its support and made a statement instead. push to end the war.
A Kremlin spokesman on Wednesday said he would not discuss the content of the talks but rejected any suggestion that Putin had rejected the US peace plan.
Where peace talks go next depends largely on whether the Trump administration decides to increase pressure on Russia or make concessions to Ukraine.
It is unclear where the peace talks will go
A. The US peace offer made public last month He has been criticized for leaning heavily on Moscow for delivering on some of the Kremlin’s key demands, which Kiev rejects as a failure.
Many European leaders worry that if Russia gets its way in Ukraine, it will be free to threaten countries it already faces. Attacks by Russian drones And fighter jetsand an allegedly widespread sabotage campaign.
Putin met with Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner in Moscow on Tuesday. The Russian and American sides agreed not to disclose the content of the talks, but at least one major obstacle to a deal remains – the fate of four Ukrainian regions that Russia has partially seized, occupies and claims as its own.
Yuri Ushakov, one of Putin’s senior advisers, told reporters after the talks that “an agreement has not been reached so far” on the land issue, and that the Kremlin does not see “a solution to the crisis” without this.
Ukraine refused to give up the territory seized by Russia.
When asked whether peace was near or far after these talks, Ushakov said, “Not further, that’s for sure.”
“But there is still a lot of work to be done, both in Washington and Moscow,” he said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that it was “not correct” to say Putin rejected the US peace plan. He declined to comment further on the talks.
“We won’t add anything on purpose,” he said. “It became clear that the quieter these negotiations were conducted, the more productive they would be.”
Europeans increase aid to Ukraine
Foreign ministers of European NATO countries, who met in Brussels on Wednesday, showed little patience towards Moscow.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said, “We see that Putin has not changed his course. He is moving more aggressively on the battlefield.” “It’s clear he doesn’t want any peace whatsoever.”
Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen gave the same note. “So far we have not seen any concessions from the aggressive Russia side, and I think the best confidence-building measure would be to start with a complete ceasefire,” he told reporters.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Ukraine’s partners will continue to send military aid to Ukraine to ensure pressure is maintained on Moscow.
“Peace talks are continuing. This is good,” Rutte said.
“But at the same time, while this is happening and we are not sure when it will end, we must make sure that Ukraine is in the strongest possible position to continue the struggle and fight the Russians.”
Canada, Germany, Poland and the Netherlands have jointly announced they will spend hundreds of millions more dollars to buy U.S. weapons to donate to Ukraine.
This year, European countries in NATO and Canada began purchasing American weapons for Ukraine. financial regulation It is known as the Priority Ukrainian Requirements List or PURL.
War costs more lives
Russia and Ukraine are waging a relentless war of attrition on the battlefield and using drones and missiles for long-range strikes behind the front lines. Many analysts have noted that this slow effort works to the advantage of Russia’s larger military, especially if disagreements between Europe and the United States or Europeans prevent arms shipments to Ukraine.
Russian drones hit the town of Ternivka in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, killing two people and wounding three more, the head of the regional military administration, Vladyslav Animalenko, said on Wednesday.
He said two people were in critical condition after one house was destroyed and six more houses were damaged in the attack.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia fired 111 attack and decoy drones into Ukraine overnight.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that its air defenses destroyed 102 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Local Governor Yegveniy Pervyshov said crashed drone debris sparked a fire at an oil depot in the Tambov region, about 200 kilometers (120 miles) south of Moscow.
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Cook reported from Brussels.
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