Nfter meeting with a delegation of representatives from various African countries, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy again rejected talks with Moscow ahead of a Russian troop withdrawal. “Allowing any talks with Russia while the occupier is on our soil is freezing the war, pain and suffering,” Zelenskyy said at a news conference in Kiev on Friday. His country needs a real peace and at the same time “a real withdrawal of Russian troops from all our independent soil”.
Meanwhile, in the Russian Baltic Sea metropolis of St. Petersburg, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin made an appearance at the International Economic Forum – and caused a sensation there with several statements that his spokesman later had to correct in some cases.
Zelenskyy: “Every meter of liberated area is the most important thing”
Later that evening, Zelenskyy released his daily video message and said he had met with the military cabinet over the ongoing counter-offensive. He did not give details, but simply said: “Each of our soldiers, each step we take and each meter of liberated Ukrainian territory is the most important thing.”
Russia has been waging a war of aggression against Ukraine for almost 16 months and currently occupies around 20 percent of Ukrainian territory. A Ukrainian counter-offensive is currently underway, as part of which the attacked country wants to liberate occupied areas – also with the help of Western weapons.
Putin irritates with statements about Patriots, fighter jets and disarmament
Meanwhile, Kremlin chief Putin irritated several times during his several-hour appearance at the 26th International Economic Forum. For example, with regard to nuclear arms control, he said: “We have more such weapons than the NATO countries. They know that and are constantly urging us to start talks about reductions.” Then he added: “Fuck it, you know what we say among the people.” A little later, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had to read Putin’s statements Journalists explain – and put them into perspective. “Russia is ready to conduct negotiations,” he assured.
Furthermore, Putin said about possible deliveries of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine: If the machines are stationed outside of Ukraine, then the Russian side will “see how and where we destroy these funds”. Here, too, spokesman Peskov rowed back and said that Russia would only attack the jets on Ukrainian territory if they were delivered.
Finally, critical Russian media took notice of Putin’s claim that his army had five Patriot anti-aircraft systems in the Kiev area. Because: Ukraine has just received two such systems from foreign partners.
Putin insults Zelenskyy – “disgrace to the Jewish people”
In addition, Putin insulted the Ukrainian head of state Zelenskyy. “I have many Jewish friends since childhood. They say: “Zelenskyj is not a Jew. This is a disgrace to the Jewish people,” he said. Moscow repeatedly justifies its war of aggression against the neighboring country with the propaganda claim that Ukraine must be rid of alleged “neo-Nazis”. Such statements also cause great horror internationally because Zelenskyj is of Jewish descent. It has also been proven that Holocaust survivors were among the many thousands of victims of Russian attacks in Ukraine.
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