Zelensky ‘in very difficult situation’ – Kremlin
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is “desperately” seeking to return to a situation in which Kiev enjoyed “unlimited” funding and weapons supplies from the West, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday. This will “never happen again” because Western nations are running out of ammunition to send to Ukraine, he added.
Zelensky is facing “really big problems” which are only getting worse, the Kremlin spokesman told Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin, saying Kiev’s goals are not achievable.
Peskov argued that Zelensky is hoping for “absolutely dominant support” at home, but instead, an increasing number of Ukrainians are beginning to question whether Kiev is just “prolonging this absolutely senseless bloodshed.”
The Kremlin spokesman also pointed to a recent decree signed by Zelensky declaring six internationally recognized Russian regions to be “historically inhabited by Ukrainians.” The move was simply a frantic attempt to distract from the worsening situation in Ukraine itself, he said, calling the claims “illogical and absurd.”
Zelensky “should have long understood what must be done to stop it all,” Peskov said, referring to the conflict with Moscow, which is about to enter its third year. “Yet, he does not want to,” he added.
Instead, the Ukrainian president is resorting to “ideological” moves to “launch claims on Russian territories,” he said, insisting that Moscow will continue its military operation until its goals are achieved.
Russia has repeatedly said it is open to peace talks with Ukraine, as long as its interests and the reality on the ground are acknowledged. Moscow is willing to reach a solution “which would guarantee [the] legitimate national interests of Russia and the Ukrainian people,” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told CBS in an interview published on Tuesday.
Ukraine has refused to sit down at the negotiating table with Russia, with Zelensky singing a decree ruling out any talks between him and Putin in autumn 2022. Instead, Kiev has tried to garner support for its own plan, the ‘Zelensky peace formula’, which demands Russia withdraw its troops from all territories claimed by Ukraine before any talks begin. The list of demands also includes reparations from Russia and a tribunal for its leadership.
Moscow has dismissed the demands as “absurd” and has said that any talks on conflict resolution without Russia are pointless. Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis echoed this opinion earlier in January, saying any talks would have to involve Moscow “one way or the other.”
