Zelenskyy stated that the Russian leadership had intentions of seizing more of Ukraine’s territory before committing to a cease-fire deal led by the U.S.
The Ukrainian leadership suspects that Russia is deliberately delaying American-led cease-fire efforts to acquire additional territory.
While in Paris on March 27, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the press, expressing concerns that Moscow was not negotiating the cease-fire in good faith.
Zelenskyy stated, “They are prolonging discussions and attempting to engage the U.S. in endless and meaningless talks about fictitious ‘conditions’ to gain time and seize more land.”
Additionally, he mentioned that Russian President Vladimir Putin aimed to negotiate from a position of strength.
Ukrainian forces are facing challenges in repelling new offensives by Russia in the occupied Russian territory of Kursk and across southeastern Ukraine.
As the spring campaign season approaches, the Kremlin is initiating a multi-pronged assault along the 621-mile front line, capturing villages east of the Dnipro River and making aggressive moves to expel Ukrainian troops from Russian territory to undermine Kyiv’s negotiating leverage.
Recent successes in these endeavors have prompted Russia to stall the U.S.-led cease-fire negotiations, with Moscow aiming to claim more of Ukraine before committing to peace.
Based on new intelligence reports, Zelenskyy mentioned that Russia was preparing for further offensives in the Sumy, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions in the northeast.
Although Putin initially
agreed in principle to a 30-day cease-fire demanded by President Donald Trump, he has consistently refused to officially commit to such an agreement, presenting changing demands each time a deal seemed close to fruition.
When addressing the situation earlier, Trump
suggested that Russian negotiators might be intentionally delaying to secure more favorable terms before agreeing to a cease-fire.
The Trump administration managed to secure tentative agreements between Kyiv and Moscow for two more limited cease-fires, one safeguarding
energy infrastructure and the other protecting
maritime trade in the Black Sea.
Both agreements quickly fell apart, with accusations from Ukrainian and Russian forces about violations at energy sites and Moscow’s issuance of new demands related to the Black Sea deal.
Those demands included extensive conditions such as reconnecting Russia’s state bank to the SWIFT international payment system and lifting sanctions imposed by all European nations.
Heightened fighting has been observed in the eastern city of Pokrovsk, a crucial defensive stronghold in Donetsk, where the capture of the city would bring Russia closer to its goal of controlling the entire region.
Moreover, during an Arctic security forum earlier that week, Putin stated that Russia had the strategic advantage in Ukraine and implied that its forces would continue to capture more Ukrainian territory.
“The strategic initiative along the entire front line lies entirely with the Russian armed forces,” Putin remarked. “Our troops are advancing and liberating territories and settlements daily.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
Source link
