Ukrainian servicemen from the 127th brigade prepare a telescopic tower with a remote camera installed on a reconstructed Soviet car “Volga” to observe and adjust fire on the near front Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Sunday.
Evgeniy Maloletka/AP
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Evgeniy Maloletka/AP
Ukrainian servicemen from the 127th brigade prepare a telescopic tower with a remote camera installed on a reconstructed Soviet car “Volga” to observe and adjust fire on the near front Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Sunday.
Evgeniy Maloletka/AP
KYIV, Ukraine — President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia is ready to negotiate to end the war in Ukraine even as the country faces more attacks from Moscow — a clear sign that peace will not occur.
Putin said in a state television interview, excerpts of which were released on Sunday afternoon that Russia is “ready to negotiate a number of acceptable outcomes with all participants in this process.” .”
It’s not we who refuse to negotiate, he said – something the Kremlin has repeatedly stated in recent months as its 10-month invasion continues to lose momentum.
Putin also reiterated that Moscow “has no choice” and said he believes the Kremlin is “acting in the right direction”.
“We are protecting the national interest, the interests of our citizens, our people,” he said.
Putin’s remarks come as attacks on Ukraine continue. A nationwide air strike warning was issued twice on Sunday alone, and three missiles in the afternoon hit the city of Kramatorsk in the partially occupied Donetsk region, local officials reported.
The governor of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said the rockets hit an industrial area of the city and there were no casualties. Kyrylenko said that the city of Avdiivka was also hit on Sunday with six rounds of shelling, and one woman was injured there.
Elsewhere in the frontline area, around the city of Bakhmut, where fierce battles have been raging in recent weeks, Russian forces are struggling to keep up with the pace of their attack, a US-based consulting firm reported this weekend.
“The rate of advance of Russian forces in the Bakhmut area may have slowed down in recent days, although it is too early to judge whether the Russian offensive to capture Bakhmut has reached its peak.” The Institute for the Study of War wrote in a recent update.
The think tank cited Russian military bloggers, who they said recently acknowledged “that Ukrainian forces in the Bakhmut area have managed to slightly slow the pace of the Russian advance around Bakhmut.” and surrounding settlements.”
Ukrainian social media sources “previously claimed that Ukrainian forces had completely pushed back Russian forces out of the eastern suburbs of Bakhmut” around December 21, the report added.
“Russian forces will likely struggle to maintain the pace of their offensive operations in the Bakhmut area and may seek to initiate a tactical or operational pause,” the institute concluded.
One day ago, a deadly Russian attack on the southern city of Khersonwas recaptured by Ukrainian forces last month, killing and wounding several.
Russian forces shelled Ukrainian-controlled areas of the partially occupied Kherson region 71 times in the past 24 hours, including 41 attacks on the city of Kherson, Ukrainian regional governor Yaroslav Yanushevich said. know Sunday.
According to the official, a total of 16 people were killed, including three emergency workers who died during demining in the Berislav district of the region. Yanushevich said that 64 others were injured.
Governor Valentyn Reznichenko said that in the vicinity of Dnipropetrovsk, the city of Nikopol was under heavy artillery shelling overnight. No casualties have been reported.
