‘Putin afraid of talks, wants to prolong war’

NEGOTIATIONS TANGLED | Russian President says he will not directly deal with ‘illegitimate’ Ukrainian counterpart

Agencies MOSCOW

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Vladimir Putin  is “afraid” of negotiations on ending the war after the Russian President ruled out direct talks with his Ukrainian counterpart. “Today, Putin once again confirmed that he is afraid of negotiations, afraid of strong leaders, and does everything possible to prolong the war,” Zelenskyy said. 

In an interview to a TV channel, Putin on Tuesday ruled out speaking directly with Zelenskyy, whom he called “illegitimate” because elections have not been held since full scale Russian invasion on February 24, 2022. The actual war started in 2014, when Russia captured Crimea. Due to the war, Ukraine is under martial law, during which the Ukrainian constitution does not allow elections. 

Ukraine has warned against it being excluded from any peace talks between Russia and the US, accusing Putin of wanting to “manipulate” US President Donald Trump. Earlier on Thursday, President Trump had said that Zelenskyy is ready to negotiate a deal to end the war with Russia. Trump has pledged to broker a peace deal in Ukraine.

Transfer of US Patriot defence interceptors

Meanwhile, the US transferred about 90 Patriot air defence interceptors from Israel to Poland this week to deliver them to Ukraine, Axios reported on Tuesday, citing three sources with knowledge of the operation. “We have seen the reports but have nothing to provide at this time,” a Pentagon spokesperson said in response. 

A spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed to Axios that a Patriot system had been returned to US hands, adding: “It is not known to us whether it was delivered to Ukraine.”

Freeze on humanitarian aid

Zelenskyy said multiple humanitarian projects in Ukraine had suspended operations due to Trump’ freeze on foreign aid and that Kyiv would replace funding where possible. “Today I instructed government officials to report on those US support programmes that are currently suspended.

These are humanitarian programmes. There are many projects. We will determine which of them are critical and need solutions now. We can provide part of this funding through our public finances. We will definitely support the priority items, those that concern Ukrainian children, our veterans, and programmes to protect our infrastructure.”

Trump’s secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and the EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, have discussed the Ukraine war in their first phone call since the Trump administration took office. An EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “They agreed on the necessity of maintaining maximum pressure on Moscow to move towards a just and sustainable peace in Ukraine.”