Ukraine war: Putin says Russia remains ready to negotiate about ‘acceptable outcomes’

Name: As Zelensky visits US, President Biden announces US$1.8 billion in military aid to Ukraine
Uploaded: 2022-12-25T12:22:59.000Z
Duration: 3 min 27 s
Description: As Zelensky visits US, President Biden announces US$1.8 billion in military aid to Ukraine

In an interview, Putin said the absence of negotiations to end the Ukraine war isn’t Russia’s fault but rather that of Kyiv and its Western allies

While he was open to discussing ‘acceptable outcomes’, Putin vowed that Moscow’s troops would destroy US Patriot missiles being sent to Ukraine

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With Russia’s invasion now into its 11th month, President Vladimir Putin said the absence of negotiations to end the war in Ukraine isn’t Russia’s fault but rather that of Kyiv and its Western allies. Photo: Reuters

Bloomberg

Published: 8:22pm, 25 Dec 2022

With Russia’s invasion now into its 11th month, President Vladimir Putin said the absence of negotiations to end the war in Ukraine isn’t Russia’s fault but rather that of Kyiv and its Western allies.

“We are ready to negotiate with all the participants in this process about some acceptable outcomes, but this is their business – it’s not we who refuse negotiations, but they,” Putin said in an interview with Rossiya-1 state TV for the Moscow.Kremlin.Putin show, according to Tass.

Russia has been trying to resolve the situation in Ukraine peacefully since 2014, but was “forced to stand up for the people who live in these territories”, Putin said in reference to eastern Ukraine, reiterating his reasoning for the invasion launched.

When asked if he thinks that Russia is about to cross a dangerous line against its neighbour, Putin said he does not see it as “that dangerous” and that Russia is merely defending its interests. He vowed that Moscow’s troops would destroy US Patriot missiles being sent to Ukraine.

Air alerts sounded across Ukraine on Sunday morning after Russian fighter jets, including one capable of carrying hypersonic missiles, took off from two Belarusian airbases, an official with Ukraine’s air force said. The alarms were later cancelled as the jets landed back in Belarus without incident.

On Saturday, the 10-month mark of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Kremlin troops killed 10 and wounded dozens more in a Grad systems attack on the southern city of Kherson, Ukrainian officials said. Images showed bodies strewn in a shopping area, along with damaged cars and buildings.

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As Zelensky visits US, President Biden announces US$1.8 billion in military aid to Ukraine

Russia fired five missiles and conducted an air strike on Saturday, according to Ukraine’s Military Staff. Kremlin troops carried out more attacks on civilian targets, including in Kherson, where 10 people were killed and dozens injured. Russia is focusing its efforts on the offensive in the Lyman, Bakhmut and Avdiivka regions in Donetsk.