Russia Backs Hungary’s Christmas Ceasefire Proposal, Ukraine Rejects It
Zelensky criticizes Orbán’s peace efforts as undermining Western unity.
Zelensky criticizes Orbán’s peace efforts as undermining Western unity.
The Ukrainian president also rejected the Biden administration’s calls to lower the draft age.
Moscow responds to statements from French and British leaders, calling them “a completely new round of escalating tensions.”
Finland says it has made no requests for border control assistance from Poland.
While China was present, Russia, importantly, was not, casting doubt on the future viability of the initiative.
Moldova’s decision, which reflects its markedly cooled relations with Moscow, comes on the heels of a recent investigation, which showed that the number of satellite dishes and communication devices on the Russian embassy’s rooftop had been steadily increasing, sparking espionage fears.
On multiple occasions, Russia threatened to quit the initiative because its demands to lift sanctions on Russia’s logistical and financial sectors, which hamstrung its own grain and fertilizer exports, had not been met.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Prigozhin, along with a few dozen Wagner commanders, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, just five days after the aborted mutiny, where they discussed, among other things, their version of what took place on June 24th.
The Russian missile attacks came just days after Zelensky said that he and Xi had a “long and meaningful” phone call where Xi said he would send a peace envoy to Ukraine and other nations.
Senior officials in the Egyptian and Russian governments have denied the plan.