BTN News: Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he will submit a proposal for a “prompt” cease-fire to Ukraine, with the condition that Kyiv withdraw its troops from the four territories annexed by Moscow in 2022 and pledge not to join NATO. The offer, quickly labeled “manipulative” and “absurd” by Ukraine, comes as the world holds critical UN conferences and geopolitical tensions are heating up.
Putin Plan for Ceasefire and Talks
Speaking at the Russian Foreign Ministry, Putin then explained how he would like to see the crisis in Ukraine be solved. He also indicated that the Kremlin is willing to begin talks right away as long as Ukraine meets certain key conditions- namely, withdrawing troops from the annexed territories and abandoning its aspirations to join NATO. Putin cast the demands as what he called ‘the key elements” of a “final settlement,” rather than simply laying out terms for a cease-fire.
In broader demands, Putin reasserted that Ukraine must recognize Crimea as part of Russia, keep Ukraine non-nuclear, hold limitations on its military, and protect its large Russian-speaking population. He also demanded the lifting of all Western sanctions against Russia as part of any peace deal.
US and Japan’s Feelings in Ukraine
Putin’s offer was met with a resolute no from Ukraine. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry rejected the plan as an effort to deceive the global community and to put down diplomatic efforts towards real peace. They said in a statement provided to Reuters that Putin’s conditions were a repetition of demands Russia has made throughout the war and showed that Putin was not serious about ending the war.
At NATO headquarters in Brussels, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reiterated that Putin is not in a position to set conditions for Ukraine. He also made clear that the conflict had been provoked by Putin and only Putin, and could be ended by him should he wish. That’s a sentiment that was echoed by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who said Putin’s proposal was for further aggression and occupation rather than a real peace offer.
International Criticism and Geopolitical Context
Vladimir Putin’s comments also coincided with major international meetings to address the Ukrainian crisis. As the talks in Kazakhstan concluded, Switzerland is due to host world leaders – but not those from Moscow – to ponder new peace initiatives for Ukraine This happened at the same time leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized nations met in Italy. The fallout came after the U.S. and Ukraine last week signed a 10-year security agreement, which Russia has dismissed as illegitimate.
The Swiss meeting would draw sharp scrutiny from Putin, who suggested it had been concocted to distract and mischaracterize the Ukrainian conflict. He contended that his proposal wanted to heal the split between Russia and Ukraine and the rest of Europe and suggested that it represented a chance to turn the tragic historical page.
Status Update in Ongoing Conflict and Current Military Development
The peace talk rhetoric continues, and there are no signs of ethnic minorities disappearing from the soil of Ukraine. In one of the largest-scale drone barrages of the war, Russian defenses reportedly knocked down 87 Ukrainian drones. Three people were injured after homes collapsed in the border region of Belgorod after Ukrainian alleged shelling, they said. Ukrainian troops, meanwhile, are low on ammunition and waiting for promised Western support as what appears to be a Russian military force vastly outnumbers them.
Drone attacks by Russia (predominantly targeting Ukraine’s power grid). The war compounds existing limitations and further implements the optimal conduits for the LuLa of nonlinear extortion. Reuters ~ Russian forces have fired 14 missiles and 17 drones overnight, most of which were shot down by Ukraine’s air defense systems These attacks caused damage and injuries in a number of regions, including Donetsk and Sumy.
Conclusion
The proposal by Putin has ignited a global reaction and international debate over the desirability of ending the bloodshed in Ukraine’s civil war. With the war dragging on, the international clamor has grown over what to do with the vast tract of what some still-called “Novorossiya,” or New Russia – the name used by Moscow to denote both Soviet-era southern Ukraine and the contested Donbas region in question – as Ukraine and its backers stood firm against ceding any ground to Moscow’s territorial aims.
