Chinese President Xi Jinping has spoken in favor of a peaceful political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, the China Central Television reported on Wednesday. He said this during a meeting with the head of the United Russia party Dmitry Medvedev in the Chinese capital.
"China takes an objective and fair position on the Ukrainian crisis issue. I hope that the parties concerned will show restraint and start a comprehensive dialogue and eliminate each other's security concerns through political means," Xi Jinping stressed.
As the Chinese leader noted, Beijing intends to actively contribute to the restoration of peace between Russia and Ukraine.
"On the issue of Ukraine, China takes a position and pursues a policy, making decisions based on its own understanding of the situation," he said.
Xi Holds Meeting With Medvedev at State Residence in Beijing on Wednesday
Chinese President Xi Jinping held a meeting with Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev in the state residence in Beijing on Wednesday.
Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev has conveyed President Vladimir Putin's message to Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting in Beijing, Medvedev's secretariat said on Wednesday.
Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev has conveyed President Vladimir Putin's message to Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting in Beijing, Medvedev's secretariat said on Wednesday.
"Medvedev conveyed to the head of China a message from Russian President V.V. Putin, which, in particular, notes the unprecedented level of Russian-Chinese political dialogue and practical cooperation, expresses confidence in the constant progressive development of interstate and inter-party ties in close cooperation with the new leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, elected following the recent party forum of the Chinese Communists," the secretariat said.
Dmitry Medvedev and Xi Jinping have exchanged views on a wide range of issues of bilateral agenda during a meeting in Beijing.
"Medvedev and Xi Jinping were unanimous in their high assessment of the current state and prospects of Russian-Chinese relations, and had a thorough exchange of views on a wide range of issues on the bilateral agenda," the secretariat said in a statement.
The sides also discussed the situation in former Soviet countries, including the Ukrainian crisis, as well as a number of significant issues of the international agenda, the statement read.
Additionally, Medvedev and Xi reached an agreement to intensify cooperation between the parties they lead.
Medvedev leading a delegation from the United Russia party is currently on a visit to the Asian country at the invitation of the Chinese Communist Party.
Congress is rushing through another tranche of aid to Ukraine in its $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package, with some $44.9 billion in assistance to Kiev tacked on to the legislation. The bill includes a curious proviso prohibiting US support for a Ukrainian ultra-right fighting force. Whether it’s worth the paper it’s written on is another story.
The Ukrainian military’s notorious neo-Nazi-linked Azov Regiment* will be formally barred from enjoying any of the tens of billions of dollars in US taxpayer dollars earmarked for Ukraine in 2023, according to the text of a draft spending bill which includes the US defense budget and foreign aid.
“Section 8138 prohibits the use of funds to provide arms, training, or other assistance to the Azov Battalion,” reads an explanatory note in the "Defense" section of the bill. “None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to provide arms, training or other assistance to the Azov Battalion,” the bill itself reads.
The provisions are probably worthless. Just above them, a stipulation reads that “none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this or any other Act shall be obligated or expanded by the United States Government…to exercise United States control over any oil resource in Iraq or Syria.” And yet the US and its Kurdish allies have been systematically looting Syria’s oil resources for years on end, with no signs of any plans to stop these illegal activities.
It’s not clear how the "no funding for Azov" could even be enforced, since the Azov Regiment, which is part of Ukraine’s National Guard, is spread out across the country’s entire military, often serving as punitive or blocking detachment fighters to shoot retreating troops or deserters, and for "cleansing" operations against pro-Russian activists, civilians, and officials in recaptured areas.
Prior to the escalation of the eight-year-old Donbass crisis into a full-blown military confrontation between Ukraine and Russia this February, Western media and intergovernmental organizations occasionally reported on “Ukraine’s neo-Nazi problem,” and even the war crimes carried out by Azov militants in Donbass.
However, as the conflict escalated this year, articles on the prickly subject trickled to a halt, with Western media attempting to rebrand Azov as a softer “right-wing” militia, questioning whether they even are neo-Nazis, or, in the case of one tragicomical piece by CNN, accusing Russia of “exploiting” Azov’s “neo-Nazi history” for propaganda purposes. Some outlets have even sought to play up Azov as heroes, with The Jerusalem Post penning a glowing report this week titled "Ukraine’s Azov Regiment Visits Israel: Mariupol is our Masada," a reference to the Jewish-Roman War of 73-74 CE.
The "no funding for Azov" reference is a leftover from old legislation, as evidenced by its reference to the militia as a "battalion" (the group has since grown into a regiment). In 2015, the now-late Democratic Congressman John Conyers of Michigan put forward an amendment banning US support for the militia, with the Conyers Amendment subsequently tacked on to annual defense budgets.
Leaked Video: Joe Biden Admits Iran Nuclear Deal is 'Dead' Even as Talks Continue
Joe Biden was vice-president when the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was ratified by then-president Barack Obama in 2015. He has since pledged to reverse his predecessor Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the deal, but talks between Washington and Tehran have been stalled since August.
A video has emerged of Joe Biden declaring the peaceful nuclear energy deal with Iran "dead" even as talks continue.
The US president made the comments to Iranian emigrés at a campaign rally with fellow Democrat congressman Mike Levin in Oceanside, California on November 4, at a time when violent protests were raging in Iran with support from Washington.
"President Biden, can you please announce that JCPOA is dead? Can you just announce that?" asks one woman. Biden replied "no", prompting the woman to ask "why not?"
"A lot of reasons. It is dead, but we're not gonna announce it," Biden told her. "Long story, but we're gonna make sure..."
Biden seemed unfazed when the woman disparagingly referred to the Iranian government as "the Mullahs."
"We just don' t want any deals with the Mullahs," she said. "No Deals! They don't represent us, they're not our government."
"Oh, I know they don't represent you," Biden replied, "but they'll have a nuclear weapon that they'll represent."
The Biden administration began talks with Iran last year on the US returning to the deal, which his predecessor Donald Trump withdrew from.
Talks between the European Union (EU) and Iran on reviving the talks are still ongoing in the Austrian capital Vienna, although the US delegation has not participated directly since August.
The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement between Iran, the US, UK, France, Germany, Russia, China and the the EU was signed when Biden was vice-president to Barack Obama.
The deal stipulated gradually lifting sanctions on Iran, while in return, Tehran would greatly reduce its enrichment of uranium fuel for its nuclear power stations and allow International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors access to its facilities to verify compliance.
Obama quickly soured the deal by slapping more sanctions on Iran over its testing of short-range ballistic missiles designed to carry conventional warheads.
Obama quickly soured the deal by slapping more sanctions on Iran over its testing of short-range ballistic missiles designed to carry conventional warheads.
Obama's successor Donald Trump kept his 2016 campaign pledge to withdraw from the deal in May 2018, but did not follow that up with a promised renegotiation. Iran waited a year, by the terms of the agreement, before restarting high-grade uranium enrichment.
The US, Israel and other Western countries allege that enriched uranium is intended for a nuclear weapons programme — something which Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has repeatedly said is forbidden by Islam in a fatwah or religious judgement.
A freight train flew off the tracks in southeastern Tennessee on Tuesday after striking a concrete truck that had become stuck at a grade-level road crossing. According to railway officials, the train is not believed to have been carrying any hazardous cargo.
Just after noon on Tuesday, a large truck carrying a 60-foot-long concrete barrier intended to protect roadside construction became stuck as it tried to navigate a rail crossing in Collegedale, Tennessee. As it waited for the traffic light to turn green, a Norfolk Southern freight train came barreling through town, smashing through the truck and its cargo that lay straddled across the tracks.
A bystander captured the stunning incident on film. The train can be seen slamming into the concrete barrier, dragging the pieces of it along with the truck for a significant distance. By the end of the footage, the entire area is covered in dust.
Train derailed in Collegedale Tennessee (near Chattanooga)… photo from Tiffany Rozek pic.twitter.com/SotK4O73B3
While it cannot be seen in the footage, the train’s three locomotives all fell off the tracks, as did 10 freight cars carrying a variety of cargo, snarling the rails and creating a tangled mess of steel, wood, and stone.
Chattanooga Fire is assisting with a train derailment in Collegedale. It happened Tues afternoon (12/20/22) at Apison Pike & University Dr. Chattanooga companies on scene: Battalion Chief for District 1, Battalion Chief for District 2, Special Operations Division, CFD Hazmat Team pic.twitter.com/yFWcgbwbBX
The Chattanooga Fire Department responded to the scene, where a large amount of diesel fuel was leaking from two of the locomotives. Fortunately, no fire was sparked by the crash. However, two people were taken to area hospitals for treatment, although reportedly neither was the truck driver.
The Norfolk Southern Railway told area media that "initial reports do not indicate any hazardous material cars involved."
Traffic remains blocked on the road where the truck was hit, as well as nearby roads, as cleanup efforts continue.
According to industry statistics, in 2021, there were 9,251 accidents or incidents involving railways in the United States, including industrial accidents and crashes, with 901 people being killed in them. The US has about 140,000 miles of railway.
Rumah rusak usai diterjang angin puting beliung. Foto: Medcom/Rofahan
BPBD (Badan Penanggulangan Bencana Daerah) Kabupaten Karawang, Jawa Barat, menyampaikan ada ratusan rumah rusak dan 14 pohon tumbang akibat angin puting beliung yang terjadi selama beberapa hari terakhir.
"Angin puting beliung terjadi di 12 kecamatan di Karawang selama beberapa hari terakhir," kata Kabid Kedaruratan dan Logistik BPBD Karawang Ferry Muharram, di Karawang, Selasa.
Menurut dia, hujan deras disertai angin kencang membuat seratusan rumah terdampak, pohon tumbang hingga sambaran petir terjadi di sejumlah lokasi di Karawang selama beberapa hari terakhir.
Peristiwa itu dilaporkan telah terjadi di 12 kecamatan di Karawang, di antaranya Kecamatan Klari, Lemahabang, Majalaya, Cilamaya Wetan, Tirtamulya, Kutawaluya, Telagasari, Karawang Barat, dan Karawang Timur.
Selain itu, angin puting beliung juga terjadi di Kecamatan Cilamaya Kulon, Banyusari, dan Telukjambe Timur.
"Untuk jumlah desa yang terdampak ada 18 desa," katanya.
Ia menyampaikan bahwa sebanyak 142 rumah rusak yang mengakibatkan 151 keluarga dengan 499 orang terdampak. Selain itu, juga dilaporkan sebanyak 14 pohon tumbang akibat angin puting beliung.
Menurut dia, data tersebut kemungkinan bisa bertambah, karena BPBD Karawang masih terus melakukan penanganan di lapangan.
Ia juga meminta masyarakat agar bersabar selama penanganan, mengingat hujan disertai angin kencang masih terus terjadi dan tersebar di sejumlah lokasi di Kabupaten Karawang.
"Kami mengimbau masyarakat agar tetap waspada terhadap cuaca yang terjadi saat ini," kata dia.
Ferry juga berharap masyarakat agar bekerja sama mengurangi dampak dari cuaca ekstrem ini dengan menebang pohon-pohon tua yang tinggi, serta menghindari daerah bertebing tanah tinggi untuk terhindar dari pohon tumbang dan bencana lainnya.
Sejumlah wilayah perkotaan dan daerah lainnya di Kabupaten Karawang, Jawa Barat, dilanda bencana angin puting beliung selama beberapa hari berturut-turut. Bencana angin puting beliung terjadi di sejumlah daerah di Karawang, sejak hari Jumat, 16/12/2022, hingga Selasa, 20/12/2022.
Berdasarkan laporan yang diterima kepolisian Karawang pada hari Minggu, 18/12/2022,, sejumlah daerah yang dilanda angin puting beliung di antaranya adalah Kecamatan Cikampek yang mengakibatkan 12 rumah rusak. Peristiwa itu terjadi pada hari Jumat, 16/12/2022.
Jajaran Polsek Cikampek langsung datang ke lokasi saat peristiwa terjadi. Aparat melakukan monitoring dan membantu warga membersihkan puing-puing rumah yang rusak akibat dihempas angin puting beliung.
Kepolisian turut menyalurkan bantuan sembako kepada para korban yang rumahnya mengalami kerusakan.
Sementara berdasar informasi yang dihimpun dari Badan Penanggulangan Bencana Daerah (BPBD) Karawang, bencana angin puting beliung juga terjadi pada Sabtu, 17/12/2022.
Pada peristiwa yang berlangsung di sore hari itu, sejumlah papan reklame ambruk setelah dihempas angin puting beliung, di antaranya di jalan raya Lingkar Bypass Karawang.
Sementara angin puting beliung di wilayah Karawang Timur tidak hanya menghempas rumah warga, namun juga mengakibatkan sejumlah pohon tumbang dan sebuah menara masjid di Perumahan Elok II Warung Bambu, Karawang Timur rusak parah.
Selain itu, sebuah tiang listrik juga tumbang hingga mengakibatkan listrik padam selama sekitar tujuh jam.
Selanjutnya, pada Minggu sore ini dilaporkan angin puting beliung juga mengakibatkan papan reklame di wilayah Telukjambe Timur ambruk.
Peristiwa angin puting beliung yang terjadi saat hujan deras itu terekam dalam sebuah video hingga tersebar di sejumlah media sosial.
Hingga kini, pihak BPBD Karawang masih melakukan pendataan terkait terkait dengan terjadinya bencana angin puting beliung yang terjadi di sejumlah daerah sekitar Karawang.
The collective West has unleashed the biggest-ever totalitarian censorship campaign against Russia’s mass media, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday.
At a news conference on Monday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for developing the rules of responsibility for social networks with regard to their content. He said that he would be shocked to see freedom of the press be jeopardized. "Would he be shocked if he saw it? Hasn’t he seen it already? Or maybe he does not want to see it. Or maybe he isn’t allowed to see it. Or maybe they have not shown him," she wrote on her Telegram channel.
Zakharova recalled that for years Russia has been calling for developing a legal framework for internet resources and has already passed corresponding laws, which were met by the West "nervously, to put it mildly." "We have been speaking in favor of filling the legal vacuum in the context of social networks. Just what the UN secretary general is saying now. But our position has been criticized by advocates of the neo-liberal approach and all-permissiveness," she added.
She suggested that the United Nations return to the discussion of Russia’s initiative to draft an international convention to regulate the activities of global internet companies, which "has been gathering dust on the UN chief’s table for two years."
"It is necessary to invigorate joint efforts to formulate generally accepted norms to put the activities of internet giants on a solid basis of international law. It is necessary to negotiate to find a solution to the problem before it is too late," she stressed.
Ukrainian Troops Killed 4,392 Civilians, Injured 3,926 Others in DPR Since February - DPR
The strikes conducted by Ukrainian forces on the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) have killed 4,392 civilians, including 132 children, and wounded 3,926 others since February 24, the DPR's mission to the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of issues related to Ukraine's war crimes (JCCC) said on Tuesday.
"According to the official data by the DPR's JCCC, as of December 19, 18:45 GMT, 4,392 civilians were killed, including 132 children," the mission said on Telegram.
The statement also said that the shelling by the Ukrainian troops injured 3,926 people, including 247 children.
It added that the strikes destroyed 9,224 residential premises, 2,200 civilian infrastructure facilities and 1,114 vehicles.
Russian MoD briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:
The Russian Army destroyed up to 30 Ukrainian servicemen in the Kupyansk direction;
Russian troops eliminated more than 100 Ukrainian servicemen in the Donetsk direction;
Russian forces destroyed temporary deployment points for units of the 61st and 72nd Mechanized Brigades of the Ukrainian Army in the DPR;
The Russian Army eliminated a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group in the DPR;
Russian forces hit accumulations of Ukrainian manpower and military equipment in the Krasny Liman direction, eliminating up to 50 servicemen;
The Russian Air Force shot down two Ukrainian MiG-29 aircraft and a Mi-8 helicopter in the DPR;
Russian air defenses destroyed five Ukrainian UAVs;
Russian air defenses shot down a Ukrainian Su-25 aircraft near Ugledar in the DPR.
Russian MoD briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:
The Russian Army destroyed up to 30 Ukrainian servicemen in the Kupyansk direction;
Russian troops eliminated more than 100 Ukrainian servicemen in the Donetsk direction;
Russian forces destroyed temporary deployment points for units of the 61st and 72nd Mechanized Brigades of the Ukrainian Army in the DPR;
The Russian Army eliminated a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group in the DPR;
Russian forces hit accumulations of Ukrainian manpower and military equipment in the Krasny Liman direction, eliminating up to 50 servicemen;
The Russian Air Force shot down two Ukrainian MiG-29 aircraft and a Mi-8 helicopter in the DPR;
Russian air defenses destroyed five Ukrainian UAVs;
Russian air defenses shot down a Ukrainian Su-25 aircraft near Ugledar in the DPR.
Russian MoD briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:
The Russian Army destroyed up to 30 Ukrainian servicemen in the Kupyansk direction;
Russian troops eliminated more than 100 Ukrainian servicemen in the Donetsk direction;
Russian forces destroyed temporary deployment points for units of the 61st and 72nd Mechanized Brigades of the Ukrainian Army in the DPR;
The Russian Army eliminated a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group in the DPR;
Russian forces hit accumulations of Ukrainian manpower and military equipment in the Krasny Liman direction, eliminating up to 50 servicemen;
The Russian Air Force shot down two Ukrainian MiG-29 aircraft and a Mi-8 helicopter in the DPR;
Russian air defenses destroyed five Ukrainian UAVs;
Russian air defenses shot down a Ukrainian Su-25 aircraft near Ugledar in the DPR.
The escalation of the long-smoldering Donbass crisis to the rest of Ukraine this year has had painful knock-on effects for the rest of the world, from an energy crunch in Europe to hunger in developing nations thanks to Western restrictions on Russian agro exports. In this situation, the question worth asking is: What does Russia want from Ukraine?
This coming Saturday will mark 10 months since the start of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, with world leaders and Western geostrategists alike warning that the conflict shows no signs of letting up, and urging for peace talks.
“I do believe that the military confrontation will go on, and I think we will have still to wait a moment in which serious negotiations for peace will be possible. I don’t see them [on] the immediate horizon,” United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in his year-end press conference Monday. Citing the pain being felt by Ukraine, Russia, and the world economy – including high food and energy prices, Guterres expressed “strong” hopes that a “peace solution” could be found “before the end of 2023.”
Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, a preeminent representative of the globalist wing of the US political establishment, also called for negotiations, emphasizing in an op-ed over the weekend that “the time is approaching to build on the strategic changes which have already been accomplished and to integrate them into a new structure towards achieving peace through negotiation.” Kissinger warned that the alternative, including attempts to defeat Russia militarily, could spark “another world war.” Trying to render Russia militarily “impotent” would also be a mistake, Kissinger said, pointing to Moscow’s historic role in preserving the balance of power, and its “decisive contributions to the global equilibrium.”
Washington apparently didn’t get the memo, with Congress putting the finishing touches on a $1.7 trillion budget which includes $45 billion in fresh "emergency assistance" to Ukraine, $8 billion more than what the White House had originally requested. Washington’s European allies have also promised to "do their part" by slapping a new round of self-defeating sanctions on Moscow, and agreeing to provide some €18 billion to Kiev in 2023.
What Did Russia Want in Ukraine Before the Crisis Started?
When the political and security crisis in Ukraine began nine years ago in the winter of 2013-2014, Moscow’s strategy vis-à-vis Kiev was simple. Having pulled off what seemed like a coup de grace by convincing then-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to pull a 180-degree turn and join the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union instead of signing an Association Agreement with the European Union, what Moscow wanted more than anything was stability in Kiev. Instead, Yanukovych got large-scale street protests in the Ukrainian capital, backed up by EU and US officials handing out cookies, cash, and behind-the-scenes political advice to protest leaders. The unrest, which included brutal, indiscriminate violence against protesters and police alike by mysterious snipers (later revealed to be Georgian mercenaries), culminated in Yanukovych’s ouster as president in a coup on February 23, 2014.
“I’m going to say now something that is not well-known,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said, recalling the events in Ukraine in early 2014 in an interview with Russian media in 2018. “At the time, our American partners reached out to us. They asked us to do everything – and I’m repeating it almost word-for-word, to stop Yanukovych from using the military, to make the opposition leave the square and administrative buildings and start carrying out the agreements on normalizing the situation. We said, ‘okay.’ The next day, there was a coup.” Asked by his interviewer whether this was the first time that the US had lied to Russia in such a way, Putin said this was “the first time” he could recall that “they were so blatant and brazen in doing it.”
After the coup, Crimea’s authorities, fearful that the mix of pro-EU and ultranationalist forces in Kiev would descend on the majority ethnic Russian peninsula to crack down on anti-coup protesters and pro-Russian sentiments, organized a snap referendum on rejoining Russia, with residents overwhelmingly voting in favor of doing so. Across eastern and southern Ukraine, from Kharkov and Donbass to Zaporozhye, Kherson, Nikolaev, and Odessa, pro-Russian protests broke out in the spring of 2014, only to be attacked and crushed by nationalists, elements of the security forces and, in Donbass’ case, by the Ukrainian Army.
What Did Russia Want From Ukraine After War Broke Out in Donbass?
In the easternmost Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, opposition to the new authorities in Kiev proved strongest, with residents forming People’s Militias and pushing back Ukrainian troops sent to crush autonomy and independence-seeking forces.
Moscow immediately expressed support for a diplomatic solution, and in July 2014, Russian, Ukrainian, Donetsk People’s Republic, and Organization for Security Co-operation in Europe officials met in the Belarusian capital of Minsk to try to put a stop to the fighting. But the bloodshed continued, and in September, Putin proposed a seven-point peace plan, including a ceasefire, the release of all prisoners, the deployment of international observers to monitor the truce, corridors for the evacuation of refugees and the delivery of humanitarian aid, and assistance to rebuild Donbass. Kiev dismissed the plan.
In February 2015, the leaders of the "Normandy Four" contact group of Russia, Ukraine, Germany, and France met in Minsk to sign a new, 13-point peace plan. The agreement, known as "Minsk II," outlined steps for Donbass’ reintegration into Ukraine, in exchange for broad, constitutionally-guaranteed autonomy. The treaty was never implemented by Kiev, and between 2015 and February 2022, a shaky ceasefire punctuated by regular shelling, sniper and sabotage provocations, and the occasional small-scale Ukrainian offensive to bite off another small chunk of Donbass territory continued for seven excruciating years. In the meantime, Kiev continued to build up its military power, and amended the Ukrainian constitution, formally setting the country on a course to join NATO and the European Union.
What Does Russia Want From Ukraine Now?
In late January of 2022, weeks after NATO and the US publicly rejected a pair of comprehensive security proposals laid out by Russia – which included a request that the alliance halt its eastward expansion into the ex-Soviet space, Donbass officials announced a major escalation of tensions on the line of contact, including the biggest intensification of shelling and sabotage attacks against Donbass since 2015. An evacuation of civilians to Russia was ordered.
On February 24, citing threats to Donbass’ security, and the dangers of an imminent Ukrainian full-scale invasion of the fledgling republics, Russia launched its "special military operation" in Ukraine, aimed at "demilitarizing" and "de-Nazifying" the country (i.e. removing the military danger to Donbass, and the ultra-right elements in the leadership in Kiev).
Russia outlined peace conditions in talks with Ukrainian negotiators in the spring. These included:
Security and independence for Donbass, as well as an end to the shelling and efforts to hold the region and its 3.5+ million inhabitants in perpetual instability and uncertainty
recognition of Crimea as part of Russia, in accordance with the results of the 2014 referendum,
legal guarantees that Ukraine will never join NATO, in exchange for security guarantees.
In early March, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov emphasized that the conflict would stop “in a moment” if Russia’s conditions were met.
Throughout late February and early March, Russian and Ukrainian officials met multiple times, first in Belarus and then in Turkey, to try to hammer out an agreement. In September, Western media revealed that Moscow and Kiev appeared to have been on the brink of a tentative agreement, but that now ex-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson traveled to Kiev to order President Volodymyr Zelensky to break off talks with the Russians, because Putin couldn’t be trusted and the West wasn’t ready to see an end to the bloodshed. In the months that followed, the US and its NATO allies proceeded to pump up Ukraine with tens of billions of dollars in arms and training assistance, raising Zelensky’s confidence that he wouldn’t have to agree to peace on Russia’s terms.
Consequently, Donbass republics and the pro-Russian administrations in Zaporozhye and Kherson held referendums on their status in September, acceding into the Russian Federation after an overwhelming majority of residents in each territory voted in favor of doing so. The people have “made their unequivocal choice,” Putin said, and Moscow wanted Kiev and its “handlers in the West” to know that “the people living in Lugansk and Donetsk, in Kherson and Zaporozhye” were now Russian citizens.
Zelensky, still confident of his support from the West, claimed earlier this month that the only way for the conflict to end would be for Russia to fall back to Ukraine’s 1991 borders. Absent that, he said, peace could only be achieved through even more Western weaponry, including modern tanks, artillery, and long-range missiles.
Last month, at a meeting with mothers of servicemen taking part in the special military operation, Putin admitted that it was a mistake not to allow Donbass to join Russia earlier, in 2014. “We…did not fully feel the mood of the people. It was impossible to understand what was happening there. Now, perhaps, it has become obvious that this reunification should have happened earlier. Maybe then there would not have been so many casualties among civilians, so many dead children,” Putin said. In 2014, the Russian president emphasized, Moscow was “sincerely” proceeding from the idea that peace in Donbass could be achieved via agreement with Kiev.
