Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected European peace proposals as “unacceptable” to Moscow and warned he would step up strikes on Ukrainian ports, even as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy outlined the main obstacles to ending the conflict.
In a series of hawkish remarks delivered to reporters before his scheduled meeting with Donald Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, in the Kremlin, Putin insisted he was not seeking a war with Europe, but warned that “if Europe wants to fight, we are ready right now.”
Putin accused European leaders of obstructing US proposals, declaring that “European demands are not acceptable to Russia” and insisting that Europe was “preventing the US administration from achieving peace on Ukraine,” according to Reuters.
Though the Russian leader did not specify which European demands he found unacceptable, his comments appeared aimed at driving a wedge between Washington and European capitals, which have backed Kyiv in proposing revisions to an earlier peace plan that was seen as favouring Moscow.
The Russian leader also threatened retaliation against Ukraine’s ports and ships after Kyiv recently struck several vessels in Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” in the Black Sea. Russia, he warned, would “step up strikes on Ukrainian ports and on any ships entering them” in response to attacks on Russian tankers, which he described as “piracy.”
Putin also repeated a previous claim that a key city, which he described as being “of a special significance, that’s a great base for fulfilling goals,” was “fully in Russian army’s control.”
Zelenskyy outlines path to peace
Speaking in Dublin alongside Irish prime minister Micheál Martin on Tuesday, Ukraine’s Zelenskyy stated that “now, more than ever, there is a chance to end this war” with a 20-point peace plan, though he admitted “some things still need to be worked out.”
Zelenskyy identified three sensitive and important issues remaining in the negotiations:
- Discussions over territory.
- The use of frozen assets.
- Future security guarantees for Ukraine.
“I think these three topics the most sensitive and the most important. And I think that our teams will continue to work on it,” he said, stressing that Kyiv wanted to “stop the war in such a manner that in one year, Russia would not come back with a third invasion.”
The Ukrainian president insisted that “nothing should be decided about Ukraine without Ukraine,” while admitting there were “no simple solutions” to ending the war. He added that Kyiv would “wait for the results in US-Russia negotiations” and react accordingly, with potential follow-up meetings.
Ireland backs EU stance
Irish Prime Minister Martin declared that Putin “must never be allowed to succeed” in his war on Ukraine. He backed EU plans to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine’s defence and reconstruction needs, arguing that such a mechanism provides “deterrence against such behaviour into the future.”
Martin welcomed Ukraine into the European Union, telling Zelenskyy that “your struggle is our struggle” and wishing Ukraine the same opportunities Ireland has benefited from.
Zelenskyy concluded by speaking about the need to hold Russia “accountable for the aggression and war crimes,” with a special tribunal working on this issue, and thanked the Irish communities that have welcomed Ukrainian refugees.
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