Kremlin Denies Report Putin Offered Ukraine Truce to U.S.
MOSCOW (Dispatches) - Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday said that a media report suggesting that Russian President Vladimir Putin reached out to the U.S. with an offer to freeze the Ukraine conflict is false,
Reuters news agency claimed that Putin had contacted Washington through intermediaries to propose “a ceasefire in Ukraine to freeze the war.” However, according to “three Russian sources with knowledge of the discussions,” who the agency claims to have spoken with, the U.S. rejected the idea.
When asked by journalists about the report, Peskov responded: “No, this is not true.”
In his interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson last week, Putin said Russia maintains contacts with the U.S. “through various agencies.”
According to the Russian leader, Moscow has told Washington many times that “if you really want to stop the fighting, you need to stop supplying weapons” to Ukraine.
In that happens, the conflict “will be over within a few weeks. That’s it. And then we can agree on some terms before you do that, stop,” he stressed.
Putin reiterated that Russia remains ready for talks with Ukraine, but in order for them to take place, President Vladimir Zelensky should at least cancel his decree that forbids him from negotiating with Moscow.
But in the battle field, Ukraine on Wednesday claimed it had destroyed a Russian warship in the Black Sea, a key battleground of the nearly two-year war where Kyiv’s forces have recently escalated attacks.
“The Ukrainian Armed Forces, together with the Defense Ministry’s intelligence unit, destroyed the large landing ship Tsezar Kunikov. It was in Ukrainian territorial waters near Alupka at the time of the hit,” Ukraine’s military said on the Telegram messaging app.
The Ukrainska Pravda media outlet earlier Wednesday reported that sea drones hit and damaged a large Russian landing ship off occupied Crimea.
The news outlet published several videos showing a column of smoke off the southern coast of Crimea, as well as helicopters flying over the sea.
The news came after Russian bombing raids killed three people including a child late Tuesday near Ukraine’s eastern city of Donetsk, local authorities said.
The strikes hit nine apartment blocks and a hospital in Selydove, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) west of the front line, the local council said on Telegram.
Twelve people were also injured in the bombing, including four children, it added.
According to the governor of Donetsk region, Vadym Filachkine, the first strike took place at around 11:30pm (21:30 GMT) and the second at around 1am (23:00 GMT).
On Tuesday, the Republican leader of the U.S. House of Representatives blocked war aid for Ukraine.
The bill was approved in the Senate earlier Tuesday. It includes $95 billion in funding, mostly for the security of pro-Western Ukraine, as well as for the top U.S. strategic priorities of Israel and Taiwan.
At the White House, Biden said that helping U.S. allies -- and particularly coming to the aid of Ukraine -- is a fundamental responsibility.
“History is watching,” said Biden, repeating the phrase five times in televised remarks. “Supporting this bill is standing up to Putin. Opposing it is playing into Putin’s hands,” the Democrat added.
Biden also lashed out at Trump after the former one-term president encouraged Russia to attack NATO members who failed to meet financial commitments.
“For God’s sake, it’s dumb. It’s shameful. It’s dangerous. It’s un-American,” Biden said, saying that twice-impeached Trump viewed the Western military alliance as a “protection racket.”
U.S. aid to Ukraine has been paralyzed for months by chaos in Congress, even as Kyiv begs for help to counter increased Russian attacks.
The $95 billion Senate package includes funding for Israel’s military and for Taiwan, but the lion’s share -- $60 billion -- would help Ukraine restock ammunition supplies, weapons and other crucial needs.