Kyiv, Ukraine
CNN
—
Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly stepped up his rhetoric within the Ukraine disaster Monday in a extremely choreographed assembly, accusing Kyiv of finishing up acts of aggression and saying he was contemplating a request to formally acknowledge the breakaway areas in jap Ukraine as impartial.
Putin additionally accused the West of threats and blackmail in the course of the beforehand unscheduled convening of the Russian safety council that, in unusually theatrical setting, was proven on tv.
The published aired simply hours after the White Home introduced that US President Joe Biden agreed “in precept” to French-brokered talks with Putin so long as Russia doesn’t additional invade Ukraine. The Kremlin stated earlier on Monday that there have been “no concrete plans” for a gathering.
Talking about the opportunity of talks with Biden, Putin – who held two prolonged telephone calls with the French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday – hinted he was skeptical.
“Yesterday we spoke with the French President on two events, with the second name lasting till 2:00 a.m. or so. He assured us that the American place has modified considerably. However when requested what these adjustments are, he, sadly, couldn’t say,” Putin stated.
He then referred to remarks made on Sunday by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who burdened as soon as once more that the difficulty of Ukraine’s membership in NATO is “a problem for Ukraine and for NATO.”
Assurances that Ukraine wouldn’t be admitted to NATO sooner or later are one of many central calls for made by the Kremlin.
Along with his high officers assembled in entrance of him on the extraordinary assembly of the safety council, Putin appeared following claims made by the Russian army earlier on Monday that troops and border guards engaged in a conflict with a “sabotage and reconnaissance group from the territory of Ukraine” inside Russian territory.
“Russia has at all times tried to resolve all conflicts by peaceable means. However, the Kyiv authorities carried out two punitive operations in these territories [Donetsk and Luhansk], and it appears that evidently we at the moment are witnessing an escalation for the third time,” Putin stated, with out additional elaborating or offering specifics.
CNN has not independently verified reviews of a conflict inside Russia’s territory. Ukrainian International Minister Dmytro Kuleba denied a conflict occurred, saying on Twitter, “I categorically refute the disinformation of the Russian Federation.”
Kuleba stated Ukraine “didn’t assault Donetsk, Luhansk, didn’t ship saboteurs or armored personnel carriers throughout the border, didn’t fireplace on the territory of the Russian Federation or the checkpoint on the border, didn’t commit sabotage, doesn’t plan such actions.”
The rise in combative language from Putin got here as tensions grew as soon as once more in jap Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Joint Forces Operation stated it recorded 32 ceasefire violations as of 4 p.m. native time, a quantity that was roughly consistent with these over the weekend.
New satellite tv for pc photographs confirmed intensified exercise amongst Russian models near Ukraine’s north-eastern border and the Ukrainian Protection ministry stated it recorded dozens of ceasefire violations on Sunday.
Protection minister Oleksii Reznikov stated Monday that Ukraine was not seeing any withdrawal of Russian forces from positions near the border.
And in an extra escalation, Belarusian officers introduced Sunday that joint Russian army workout routines in Belarus that had been slated to finish over the weekend would proceed, implying that Russian forces might prolong their keep.
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