Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that ‘honest peace’ can only take place with the ‘complete destruction of Russian aggression’.
Russia is seeking a “ceasefire” – a proposal that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vehemently rejected as it would allow Moscow’s forces to regain strength after a series of defeats on the battlefield.
Officials in Russia have repeatedly said that they are ready to enter peace talks without any conditions, but it is not clear whether they will make a formal ceasefire offer as Zelenskyy mentioned yesterday. Friday or not.
“Russia is now looking for a short truce, a respite to regain strength. One can call this the end of the war, but such a respite will only make the situation worse,” the Ukrainian leader said.
“A true, lasting and honest peace can only be the result of total destruction Russia’s Invasion.”
The US says only Zelenskyy can decide when to open peace talks with Russia, rejecting the notion it is pressing Kyiv to negotiate to end a nearly nine-month war caused by the invasion. caused by Moscow.
General Mark Milley, the top US military officer, said this week that although Ukraine has achieved significant successes on the battlefield, Moscow still controls 20% of the country and does not have the military capability. Kiev’s team will soon push the Russians out of Ukraine.
Ukraine regains strategic control important city of Kherson in the south last week. It has been occupied by Russian troops since the beginning of the war in late February.
‘Alarming allegations’
Kherson marked the third major counterattack after Ukrainian forces pushed back Russian troops near Kyiv in April and recaptured large swaths of the northeast in September.
Zelenskyy said on Monday “Investigators have documented more than 400 Russian war crimes” in Kherson.
The Conflict Observatory, a war crimes research group at Yale University’s School of Public Health, said it had recorded 226 extrajudicial detentions and forced disappearances in the southern city. About a quarter of those are believed to have been tortured and four died in custody.
Most of the arrests and disappearances were made by the Russian military and security agency FSBand half of those arrested “do not appear to have been released,” the Conflict Observatory said in a report Friday.
Men of military age — including civil servants, civil society leaders, teachers, law enforcement officers and journalists — make up a large portion of those detained and disappeared.
“These findings reveal an alarming array of allegations about the treatment of detainees, including allegations of death in custody; the widespread use of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment… [and] sexual and gender-based violence, the report said.
It cites sources as saying that after capturing Kherson in March, the Russians arrived with lists of names and license plates, targeting those they thought might resist their presence.
Crimean Tatars were also targeted, and many are accused of belonging to what Russia calls a “terrorist” Tatar group.
The Conflict Observatory said that while some of the detainees had been released, “many others remained in custody or went missing, their families unaware of their fate” since Russian forces withdrew from the city. Kherson Street.
