Putin conditions ceasefire in Ukraine; Intensifies military offensive

MOSCOW.— Vladimir Putin, Russian president, demanded the recognition of his sovereignty over Crimea, annexed in 2014, and the demilitarization and “denazification” of Ukraine as preliminary conditions to end the invasion of that country.

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For its part, in a first session of negotiations on the border with Belarus, Ukraine called for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of the invading troops from its country, which yesterday launched deadly bombings in several cities, including Kharkov, the second largest from Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukrainian president, who denounced that the dialogue was carried out with bombings and gunshots in the background, yesterday signed an application for the entry of his country into the European Union.

Meanwhile, on the sixth day of the invasion, countries like Switzerland joined the sanctions once morest the Russian government.

PUTIN DEMANDS TO DEMILITARIZE UKRAINE IF PEACE IS WANTED

The Russian president intensified his military offensive in Kharkov, the second largest Ukrainian city, while demanding the recognition of Crimea as Russian territory

MOSCOW.— The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, yesterday presented its conditions to end the invasion of Ukraine, where its troops launched deadly bombings in several cities, including Kharkiv, despite increased pressure and international sanctions.

In the first session of negotiations with KievMoscow demanded recognition of Crimea as Russian territory and the demilitarization of Ukraine which, for its part, called for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of the invading troops from its country.

Neither the sanctions nor the negotiations with Ukraine have stopped the Russian invasion. In the Belarusian town of Gomel, near the border with Ukraine, both delegations met for hours before returning to their capitals for consultations, Ukrainian delegate Mikhailo Podoliak said. His Russian counterpart, Vladimir Medinski, indicated that there will be a new meeting “soon”.

During the discussions, the shelling continued in different cities such as Kharkov, the second largest city in Ukraine, where at least 11 people were killed in residential neighborhoods, according to its governor, or in Brovarý, near Kiev.

Those conversations took place with the bombings and the shots once morest our territory in the background”, denounced the Ukrainian president, Volodímir Zelenski.

I think that, in this simple way, Russia tries to put pressure (…) Do not waste time, “he added. In a call with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, Putin established the recognition of his sovereignty over Crimea, annexed in 2014, and the demilitarization

and “denazification” of Ukraine as preliminary conditions to a resolution of the conflict, the Kremlin said.

Resolving the conflict “is possible only if Russia’s legitimate security interests are taken into account without condition,” said Putin, who the day before put the Russian nuclear arsenal on a “special state of alert.”

On the ground, the Russian offensive is becoming “increasingly brutal”, denounced the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell. Still, the Ukrainian forces seem to hold on and Russia has failed to announce any resounding victory.

Yesterday, the authorities announced that they had repelled several assaults once morest Kiev. In the morning, the curfew was lifted in the capital, where long lines formed outside supermarkets and where brigades of volunteers with yellow and blue ties erected makeshift barricades.

The Interfax-Ukraine agency reported heavy fighting in Kharkov, near the Russian border. Several residential buildings were hit by Russian missiles.

What is happening right now in Kharkiv is a war crime!” denounced the regional governor, Oleg Sinegubov.

In total, Russian forces have fired 113 tactical missiles at Ukrainian cities and towns since the invasion began, Ukrainian Army Chief Valery Zaluzhny reported on Facebook.

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