Ukraine news: Putin says he wants war to end ‘as soon as possible’ if Zelensky returns to Kyiv

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky released a video on Friday saying he was back at work in Kyiv after a landmark visit to Washington this week.

“I’m in my office. We’re working hard to win,” he said in a video posted to his Telegram channel.

“The two international visits this week are strong indicators that the war in Ukraine is unlikely to end anytime soon, with another protracted and bloody round expected in the near future,” it wrote Kim Sengupta.

“Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin met with Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk amid reports that the Kremlin may try again to use Belarus as a vehicle for its next offensive. launch pad and renewed attempts to seize Kyiv and effect regime change.”

Russia claims Volodymyr Zelensky’s wartime visit to Washington proves he is not “fighting for peace” in Ukraine as it coincides with a $1.8bn US military aid package.

The Ukrainian president received thunderous applause from lawmakers during his hastily organized visit – his first abroad since the Feb. 24 Russian military invasion.

He returned to Kyiv on Thursday after a brief stay in Poland, where he greeted President Andrzej Duda.

The new U.S. deal includes the supply of the Patriot air defense system, the most powerful such weapon ever promised to Ukraine.

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The idea of ​​Volodymyr Zelensky’s daring wartime visit to Washington had been swirling for some time, with the surprise visit not revealed until hours before the Ukrainian president’s arrival.

At a summit in Zagreb in October, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the speaker of Ukraine’s parliament discussed the prospect of Mr Zelensky speaking before the US Congress.

For months, Biden administration officials have similarly discussed Zelensky’s visit to the White House with Ukraine, hoping to do so before the end of the year to send a clear message ahead of a harsh winter that could intensify attacks on Russian President Vladimir Putin. support signal.

Negotiations on Russia’s security guarantees cannot be negotiated if NATO trainers and “mercenaries” remain in Ukraine and the West continues to supply the country with weapons, a senior Russian diplomat said on Friday.

In an interview with Russian state news agency TASS, the head of the North American Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Alexander Dakiyev, said the talks were premature “until the flood of weapons and money from (Ukrainian President Vladimir) Zelensky’s regime stops. , U.S. and NATO soldiers/mercenaries/instructors were withdrawn”.

Russia routinely refers to foreign volunteers who fight Ukrainian forces as “mercenaries” and has criminalized captured foreign fighters.

In recent weeks, Russian officials have increasingly stressed that they are open to talks on Ukraine, even as they stress they do not believe Zelensky is interested in a peaceful solution.

In his comments, Dargiev said there was also a need to “recognize the realities we have established on the ground” before the talks, an apparent reference to Russia’s control over parts of eastern and southern Ukraine.

North Korea’s foreign ministry denied media reports that it had provided arms to Russia as “groundless” and condemned the United States for supplying deadly weapons to Ukraine, North Korea’s official KCNA news agency reported on Friday.

Japan’s Tokyo Shimbun newspaper earlier reported that North Korea sent ammunition, including artillery shells, across the border to Russia by train last month, with more shipments expected to arrive in the coming weeks.

“The Japanese media’s false report on North Korea’s arms supply to Russia is the most absurd diversion and does not deserve any comment or explanation,” a foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement carried by KCNA.

North Korea has completed an initial arms delivery to a Russian private military company called the Wagner Group to help bolster Russian forces in Ukraine, the White House said on Thursday.

The North Korean foreign ministry statement did not mention Wagner.

Wagner received infantry rockets and missiles from North Korea, according to the White House, although Wagner owner Yevgeny Prigorzhin has denied the claim, citing “gossip and speculation.”

“North Korea’s principled position on the ‘arms deal’ between North Korea and Russia has not changed, which has never happened,” the North Korean spokesman said, adding that it was the U.S. that “brought bloodshed and destruction to Ukraine” for It offers a variety of deadly weapons. “

DPRK is the initials of North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

South Korea’s foreign ministry condemned reports of North Korea’s arms deal with the Wagner Group, stressing that Pyongyang is prohibited from any arms deal under UN Security Council resolutions.

“Our government has been in communication with the U.S. side on this and supports the U.S. push to raise this issue in the UN Security Council,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

In a separate statement, North Korea’s foreign ministry also slammed the U.S. for attempting to issue a U.N. Security Council presidential statement on its latest ICBM launch.

“North Korea has clearly warned that such a foolish attempt by the United States may bring very bad consequences,” the spokesman said in a statement, adding that the U.S. move was a “very dangerous act” and North Korea “must take actions to counter it.” .

Russia said Ukraine’s announcement to buy Patriot missiles from the United States during President Zelensky’s visit to Washington did not help resolve the conflict or prevent Moscow from achieving its goals.

Although the Patriot air defense system is widely considered advanced, President Vladimir Putin dismissed it as “pretty old” and told reporters Moscow would find a way to counter it. At the same time, he said Russia wanted to end the war in Ukraine, which would inevitably involve a diplomatic solution.

“Our goal is not to turn the flywheel of a military conflict, but to end this war,” Putin said.

“We’re going to try to end this, and of course the sooner the better.”

These comments quickly aroused suspicion in the United States. White House spokesman John Kirby said Putin “has shown absolutely no sign that he is willing to negotiate” an end to the war.

“Everything he (Putin) does on the ground and in the air shows that he wants to continue the violence against the Ukrainian people (and) escalate the war,” Kirby told reporters.

Russia has repeatedly said it is open to talks, but Ukraine and its allies suspect that a series of defeats and retreats on the Russian battlefield have turned the momentum of the 10-month war in Ukraine’s favor, playing out for time.

Russian officials are considering preparing their military to face the long-term challenges posed by a massive invasion of Ukraine, the UK Ministry of Defense said today.

The Russian Ministry of Defense noted that Vladimir Putin had presented him with a plan to expand the Russian military by about 30% to 1.5 million at a meeting on Wednesday.

However, the Ministry of Defense said it was unclear when that level would be reached.

“Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shigu explained that the expansion would involve at least two brigades in northwestern Russia developing into division-level forces. He cited the alleged threat of Finland and Sweden joining NATO,” according to the ministry’s latest intelligence update .

“This is one of the first insights into how Russia is eager to adapt its forces to meet the long-term strategic challenge posed by its invasion of Ukraine,” it added.

“It is unclear how Russia will find recruits to complete such an expansion, as its military is under unprecedented pressure in Ukraine,” the ministry said.

U.S. Defense Department officials are considering training Ukrainian soldiers to operate the Patriot missile defense system as the war-torn country prepares to fend off a growing Russian offensive that resumed this month with Iranian drones.

The Pentagon is considering training Ukrainian soldiers to operate a surface-to-air missile system at a U.S. military base, two defense officials told the news magazine politician.

Joe Biden confirmed as much during a speech in the Oval Office alongside Volodymyr Zelensky.

“We will continue to support Ukraine’s self-defense capabilities, especially air defense capabilities, which is why we will provide Ukraine with Patriot missile batteries and train your troops to use them accurately,” he said in a statement. joint address.

Russia said Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Washington proved he was not “fighting for peace” in Ukraine, noting the high-level diplomatic meeting coincided with a $1.8 billion US military package for the country assistance.

“They said they might send the patriots there, well, we’ll crack the patriots too,” Vladimir Putin said, adding that deliveries would only prolong the fighting. “Those doing so are futile and it only prolongs the conflict.”

The Ukrainian president received thunderous applause from lawmakers during his hastily organized visit – his first abroad since the Feb. 24 Russian military invasion.

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