Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree today formalizing the impossibility of any Ukraine meeting with Vladimir Putin. According to Reuters, this hurdle in negotiations is exclusive to the Russian president and could be handled by another head of state who takes over Russia.
The term came about a week after Zelensky said he would not negotiate with Putin. “Ukraine will not negotiate with Russia as long as it is president of the Russian Federation. We will negotiate with the new president,” he said on Friday (30), shortly after the Kremlin formalized the annexation of four Ukrainian regions.
Zelensky does not exclude talks with Russia after Putin leaves. “He doesn’t know what honor and honesty are. That’s why we are ready for dialogue with Russia, but with another Russian president,” the Ukrainian leader said.
Zelensky signals a meeting with Putin
In May, Zelensky said he was ready to negotiate with the Russian government. “This greatly complicates the possibility of conducting negotiations. We want them to understand that our society is very peaceful, that we have been negotiating for eight years. I am ready to talk to Putin, but without an ultimatum.”
A day after these statements, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reported that a meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky was “impossible” at that time. “There is no progress in the preparation of a possible document that Putin and Zelensky could sign. Russia is not against a meeting between the two presidents, but without adequate preparation it is impossible.”
Ukrainian forces advance on two fronts
Ukrainian forces made their biggest advance in the country’s southern region since the start of the war, breaking through Russian defenses and rushing along the Dnipro River on Sunday, threatening the supply lines of thousands of Russian soldiers.
Reuters saw columns of Ukrainian military vehicles moving 300km northeast of the country to reinforce the Lyman rail hub, which restarted over the weekend, in a sign that Ukraine is strengthening on two fronts. Donbass region.
Kyiv gave little information about gains in the south, but Russian sources agreed that Ukrainian troops advanced tens of kilometers along the west bank of the river and recaptured several villages along the way.
This advance reflects Ukraine’s recent war-changing successes in the east, even as Moscow tries to raise the stakes by annexing territory, ordering mobilization, and threatening nuclear retaliation.
source: Noticias
