Putin Claims That Ukraine Violated Its End Of Preliminary Peace Agreement

On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Moscow did not perceive any motivation on the part of Ukraine to adhere to the provisions of what he described as a tentative peace agreement reached in March.

Putin claimed Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were willing to act as mediators between Russia and Ukraine, which Moscow’s soldiers invaded in late February, in televised remarks to reporters following a trip to Iran.

The Ukrainian administration did not immediately respond to Putin’s comments from early on Wednesday.

When questioned about a potential meeting with the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Putin said Kyiv had broken the terms of an initial peace agreement that he claimed had been “practically reached” in March. He did not elaborate.

“Of course, the willingness of the contractual parties to carry out the agreements that were reached…determines the eventual outcome. Today, it is clear that Kiev’s authorities lack this drive.

Both parties made offers during the March negotiations, but there was no progress. Zelenskiy asserted at the time that only a tangible outcome from the negotiations could be trusted.

Tuesday’s meeting between Putin and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, deepened relations between the two countries, which are both subject to Western sanctions.

Putin met with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan during his visit to Iran to explore an agreement that would allow Ukraine to resume its blockaded Black Sea grain shipments.

Putin, who was interviewed by Rossiya state TV during his visit to Iran, stated that Russia was willing to help Ukraine sell grain across the Black Sea but also wanted the remaining restrictions on Russian grain exports to be lifted.

The Russian president had stated on Tuesday that not all of the problems with grain imports had been handled yet, but that “the fact that there is movement is already excellent.”

Putin spoke with the head of NATO for the first time since Russian soldiers invaded, and it was a direct message to the West about Russian aspirations to build tighter strategic connections with Iran, China, and India to help counteract Western sanctions brought on by the war.

According to John Kirby, the White House’s national security spokesman, the trip demonstrates how isolated Russia has grown. Additionally, Kirby stated that the US was getting ready to reveal another arsenal for Ukraine. He charged Russia with preparing the foundation for the annexation of Ukrainian land, citing U.S. intelligence.

ISOLATED

According to the Kremlin, the fight it refers to as a “special military operation” is ongoing in order to protect its own security. It is condemned by Ukraine and the West as an unjustified act of aggression against its neighbour.

In an interview with a magazine that was released on Tuesday, Zelenskiy’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak claimed that Russia was attempting to “drag” Ukraine into a protracted confrontation into the winter.

We must take great care to avoid the winter. Any Ukrainian counteroffensive will undoubtedly be more challenging after winter, when the Russians will have more time to entrench themselves, according to Yermak.

The eastern Ukrainian city of Lysychansk was taken by Russia more than two weeks ago, marking its most recent significant territorial expansion. But on Tuesday, Russian missiles struck locations all throughout Ukraine in a manner that has become routine.

Russian missiles struck the Kramatorsk city centre in eastern Ukraine, killing at least one person, according to authorities.

According to Valentina, a 70-year-old local homeowner whose son-in-law, Maksym, was seriously hurt in the attack, “I felt a pretty big explosion and I understood it was somewhere here.”

“I spoke to my daughter, who informed me that Maksym was not answering the phone. She wailed, “He must have been knocked off then.

A sizable pool of blood was visible in the scene’s video footage among the crumpled leaves.

In a Facebook post, the Ukrainian air force claimed that it had shot down a Russian fighter plane with a missile over Nova Kakhovka, which is to the east of Kherson, a city that is now under the control of Russian forces. The Ukrainian account could not immediately be confirmed by Reuters.

GAS EXPORTS

As the conflict continues, worries that Russia may stop supplying natural gas to Europe have grown. According to Bloomberg on Tuesday, who cited EU diplomats, the European Union is mulling a voluntary 15 percent reduction in the usage of natural gas by its member states starting next month.

The 27 EU nations’ gas consumption reduction plans are likely to be released by Brussels on Wednesday. A draught of the plan that Reuters saw did not contain the precise amount for the reduction aim.

According to Putin, the energy giant Gazprom, which is under the control of the Kremlin, is prepared to fulfil its commitments to export gas and is not to blame for a decrease in gas transit capacity, including Kyiv’s closure of one of the routes through Ukraine to Europe.