Putin demands more Ukrainian land to end war; Kyiv rejects 'ultimatum'
Putin demands more Ukrainian land to end war; Kyiv rejects 'ultimatum'
MOSCOW (Reuters) -President Vladimir Putin said on Friday Russia would end the war in Ukraine only if Kyiv agreed to drop its NATO ambitions and hand over the entirety of four provinces claimed by Moscow, demands Kyiv swiftly rejected as tantamount to surrender.
On the eve of a conference in Switzerland to which Russia has not been invited, Putin set out maximalist conditions at odds with the terms demanded by Ukraine, apparently reflecting Moscow's growing confidence that its forces have the upper hand in the war.
He restated his demand for Ukraine's demilitarisation, unchanged from the day he sent in his troops on Feb. 24, 2022, and said an end to Western sanctions must also be part of a peace deal.
He also repeated his call for Ukraine's "denazification", based on what Kyiv calls an slur against its leadership.
Ukraine said the conditions were "absurd".
"He is offering for Ukraine to admit defeat. He is offering for Ukraine to legally give up its territories to Russia. He is offering for Ukraine to sign away its geopolitical sovereignty," Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters.
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I know I'm in the minority here but I say, Put all of NATO into this thing. Shove Russia back to their original border. Take all of Ukraine back. A large chunk of Ukraine is leveled at this point. So a full battle on that side of the country won't destroy much more.
Ukraine has currently expressed disinterest in foreign troops fighting the war on their behalf, but I agree that any support Ukraine requests, up to and including intervention, we should provide.
Oops
I know at the beginning they were saying just send equipment. I thought they were now asking for troops. My bad.
In that case, send everything we can legally send them.
No, it would be a good idea to send some trainers and stuff, just not frontline fighters. Even putting some peacekeepers on the Belarusian border might be okay, freeing up the little amount of Ukrainian troops that need to be stationed there
NATO is a defensive alliance. It isn't meant to be used for getting involved in conflicts with non-NATO states unless a NATO member country is attacked first. NATO involving itself would lead to escalation which wouldn't benefit anybody.
Yes, in a world without nuclear weapons.
The moment NATO troops show up in Ukraine for combat duties the dynamics change dramatically. Russia will point at it and tell "see, they are here to invade" to drum up more aupport, they might even start deploying conscripts to the conflict.
It probably would help more to cut off Russias ability to circumvent the sanctions. Deploy navies to check more ships and such. Close the Bosporus for ships from and to russia. Also working on their ability to recruit abroad would probably help a lot.
NATO taking over the defense of the Ukraniane-Belarus border could be an option though as well as the airspace of Western Ukraine.
And lastly, more equipment.. much more. 4 additional patriots, and shells.. so many shells.
At least the no fly zone they requested a while back. Not sure how important that is right now but I don't why that can't be provided except for cowardice.