Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky set four conditions for entering into peace talks with Russia on Friday, according to a report in a newspaper. Washington Post.
Zelensky called for the restoration of Ukraine’s pre-invasion borders, the return of more than 5 million Ukrainian refugees, the country’s accession to the European Union, and the accountability of Russian military leaders, before Kyiv considers laying down its arms.
Zelensky announced the terms during an online forum organized by Chatham House, a think-tank in London, according to the newspaper.
Russian forces are still pressing the Donbass region and southern Ukraine, as their attacks continued on Friday in violation of the ceasefire.
The comments come as Ukraine and Western countries await potentially dramatic shifts in battles from the Kremlin on Monday, when Russia celebrates Victory Day to commemorate the surrender of Nazi Germany in World War II.
Zelensky pointed out that the city of Mariupol was “completely destroyed” and that Russia was left with nothing but the steel industry complex to tighten its control over it, and the control of this complex would allow Moscow to announce the completion of its control over Mariupol, which had a population of regarding 500,000 people before the war, and was destroyed by two months of siege and bombing, According to a report published by Agence France-Presse.
In Zaporozhye, a curfew was announced, while the mayor of Kyiv warned of an increase in missile attacks in the coming days.
The British Ministry of Defense warned on Friday that Russia would try to complete its control of Mariupol before the D-Day celebrations, as fighters and civilians are still hiding in the Azovstal steel plant.
The newspaper report quoted the Russian Foreign Ministry, denying that it might try to deploy a nuclear weapon, stressing that its use “does not apply to carrying out special military missions in Ukraine.”
Photographers’ lenses spotted workers replacing road signs around Mariupol from Ukrainian to Russian, while reports said that the Russian authorities forced the residents of Kherson in the Crimea to convert their currency from the Ukrainian hryvnia to the Russian ruble, according to the newspaper.
Russia justifies its incursions into Ukraine by saying that it protects the rights of Russian speakers in the eastern regions.
And on Friday, US President Joe Biden announced new US aid to Ukraine, including artillery munitions and radar equipment, warning that the funds allocated to supply Kyiv with weapons were running out, calling on Congress to allocate additional funds, according to an AFP report.
The Biden administration had sent munitions worth more than $3.4 billion, ranging from heavy artillery, Stinger missile launchers, anti-aircraft missiles, and drones.
