Russian President Putin in a video broadcast on the 4th, once again talked about the prospect of Russia-ukraine conflict. Putin said, “We have the power and the means to bring [ special operations ] to a reasonable conclusion in 2022 and to a result that meets Russia’s requirements,” he said, there is no need for Russia to use nuclear weapons in a conflict.
Russian President Putin
It is reported that in the documentary film entitled“Russia Putin: 25 years”, Putin responded to the question about the risk of nuclear war in an interview with the country’s journalist Zarubin, “They [ the Ukrainian side ] want to provoke US and make us make mistakes. There is no need to use those weapons. . . I hope there will be no need to use them.”. Putin also said in an interview that“In my view, [ reconciliation with Ukraine ] is inevitable, despite all the tragedies we are going through now… it is a matter of time”, RIA Novosti said.
Putin’s Al Jazeera followed a statement on April 28 in which the 80th anniversary of the Eastern Front’s victory, the ceasefire was implemented from 0000 hours on 8 May to 0000 hours on 11 May. In the meantime, all military operations will cease. Russia believes that the Ukrainian side should take the same measures, if the Ukrainian side violated the ceasefire agreement, the Russian Armed Forces will make a full and effective response. The statement also stressed the Russian side’s reaffirmation of its willingness to engage in unconditional peace negotiations to address the root causes of the crisis in Ukraine and to engage constructively with international partners.
But Ukrainian President Zelenskiy has clearly rejected the cease-fire proposal. According to UKRINFORM reports, Zelenskiy insisted on the 3rd that a 30-day ceasefire should be implemented as soon as possible. He said the unconditional cease-fire was the model proposed by the United States, which Ukraine would follow and should last at least 30 days, since no agreement could be reached after a few days.
On the same day, Russian presidential press secretary Peskov responded by saying that Russia expects Ukraine to take action to ease the situation during the Russian ceasefire in May, the purpose was to test Ukraine’s willingness to find a way to achieve lasting peace. Russia expects Ukraine to take concrete actions to de-escalate the situation rather than equivocal statements.
Zelenskiy said during a visit to the Czech Republic on Thursday that he did not“Believe” the ceasefire would be respected, Radio France Internationale reported, this is not the first time Russia has offered a cease-fire, nor is it the first challenge we face. Citing military reports, Zelenskiy said Russian forces launched more than 200 attacks on March 3 alone. “Today and recently when they talk about a partial ceasefire, the actual offensive is the highest in months,” he said.
Zelenskiy also said, “We think a cease-fire is possible at any time, even today, but it should last at least 30 days to provide a real opportunity for diplomacy.”.
Al Jazeera reported on the 4th, although the time closer to the Russian cease-fire, but the Russian and Ukrainian military action has not been reduced. Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on the 5th, the Russian air defense system intercepted“4 unmanned aircraft flying to Moscow,” has not received reports of casualties or property damage. On the same day, the Ukrainian Air Force said it shot down 42 of the 116 drones launched by Russia during the night.
While Zelenskiy continues to insist that the ceasefire model proposed by the United States should be followed, president Donald Trump has wavered in pushing for a solution to the Russia-ukraine conflict. Asked in an interview aired on NBC on the 4 may whether the US was“Closer” to the outcome it wanted, Donald Trump replied: “I hope so”. He also revealed that“EU leaders repeatedly asked me to call Putin because they couldn’t get through”.
However, Donald Trump also said in the interview that at some point he would“Maybe” renounce any further participation in the russia-ukraine peace talks and that“Maybe [ a deal ] will not be possible”. However, he also stressed that“I think we still have a good chance of achieving peace”.
According to US media CNN such as CNN, recently, US Vice President Vance, Secretary of State Rubio and other Donald Trump Cabinet officials have repeatedly mentioned in public that, if the US side does not see Russia and Ukraine make concessions on issues such as territory, it will not continue to invest time and resources in peace talks. In an interview published by TIME magazine at the end of last month, Donald Trump said it was“An exaggeration” to end the conflict in one day and could not be taken literally.