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Two people were injured and buildings damaged in a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian city as Putin mocked peace talks between the two countries.
Six drones struck Russia’s Belgorod oblast, which is located on Ukraine’s border, on Friday morning, according to the region’s governor.
Russian air defence shot down four of the drones, said governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. One caused a grass fire on the outskirts of Belgorod city, while the other struck the administrative building.
It comes as Vladimir Putin mocked planned Ukraine peace talks and claimed Russia would never accept “any schemes that have nothing to do with reality”.
Switzerland said it would host a peace conference in June to help chart a path toward peace in Ukraine after more than two years of fighting.
But Putin claimed Moscow hadn’t been invited to join the talks, while pointing at Swiss recognition that a peace process can’t happen without Russia.
“They aren’t inviting us there. Moreover, they think there is nothing for us to do there, but at the same time they say that’s it’s impossible to decide anything without us. It would have been funny if it weren’t so sad,” Putin said.
PsychLegalMind on April 12nd, 2024 at 16:18 UTC »
Unless the purpose of this conference is to discuss what steps and concessions Ukraine must make to survive as a country; then it may well eventually lead to something which Russia may join at a later date to hammer out the details. All of Ukraine's supporters know this well. Only few have the courage to say it out loud. [Any offer by Russia that was discussed in Istanbul a week after war started is no longer on the table.]
Even Kirby has had a small dose of encounter with reality, he no longer has any fantasy [if he ever did] about any group of NATO allies ever regaining any lost or annexed territory. He recently talked in terms of protecting Kiev as a goal when seeking the stalled aid instead of recovering territories lost. Zelensky, however, wants a final blow [to itself] by talking about another counteroffensive.]
Obviously, U.S. will officially never support this position of compromise, but its actions and lack of support speak volumes. Instead, it will continue to talk of sanctions and how that can make a difference. While their think tanks now have declared that Russia's army now is larger and stronger than it was before the conflict. And will only grow stronger.
Someone with decency needs to stand up and talk on behalf of Ukraine's actual interest and how they can help Ukraine survive [at least those parts not yet annexed] as a sovereign country and even becoming someday a part of EU. And dispel the rhetoric once and for all about ever joining NATO. This is what brought us to this point of Ukraine's destruction.
As for others who think that Russia did not stop NATO expansion, referring to Finland and Sweden; they need to think again. They are not similarly situated nor strategic like Ukraine from Russian perspective. Even Finland itself, however, went to Putin before agreeing to join NATO and asked Putin what he thought. Putin did not object except for to say he did not find that necessary. It is not any different for Sweden. That will as Putin has said depend on what nuclear armaments are delivered and or stored.
If Ukraine's so-called major allies continue to play the same game as before about winning, I am afraid Ukraine may also lose Odesa, become landlocked, a permanent failed state under the ambit of Russia. Those are the only two choices Ukraine has. Lose more men until nothing is left and lose more valuable territory. Or reach a settlement and proclaim they fought a war with a giant and still survived as a viable and neutral country.
Switzerland is smarter than its government, its people are more focused on how to maintain its neutrality and will have a referendum [eliminating useless sanctions]. That is the way to keep peace, not by provoking the Bear in hibernation and waking it up.
Yelesa on April 12nd, 2024 at 13:25 UTC »
Submission Statement?
Alright, third party submission statement:
Putin dismissed the prospects of upcoming peace talks facilitated by Switzerland, scheduled for June. Putin criticized the organization of the talks, pointing out the paradox in not inviting Russia while acknowledging that no peace process could be effective without its participation. This skepticism from Putin casts a shadow over the international efforts aimed at resolving the conflict that has persisted for over two years.
— My views on the matter:
It is not unexpected that Russia treats this as Western hypocrisy, this is after all, one of their most successful propaganda campaign, always carefully ignoring the context of what caused the situation in the first place. They are essentially using the same old argument “if both the criminal and the police following them is also speeding, shouldn’t the police be held responsible for speeding too?” While this isn’t bought in the West, for countries with anti-West bias this makes a lot of sense, because the anti-Western bias significantly clouds rationality; the disappointment Global South feels with the West makes even the most asinine arguments used by Russia appear logical.
When Russia invaded Ukraine it broke UN charter that prevents one country from using force to take over parts of another country, and that was clear as day when the UN voted against Russia as well. That means Russia is legally not in an equal position with Ukraine and the West, so if the West wants to only care of Ukraine in peace talks, they have every legal right to do so.
Secondly, peace talks need to be fair and honest. If one of the parties at the table has broken trust the way Russia has done over and over and over, it’s hard to have a successful discussion. By not including Russia, the talks can focus on finding a peaceful solution that respects the rights and independence of Ukraine, without being swayed by the demands of the aggressor.
And finally, any mention of “what about US invasions” in this topic irrelevant, not only it’s not nowhere near the same because US has not annexed new territory from their invasions, but even if US got away, that doesn’t give Russia the right to do the same thing. It’s also being held in Switzerland, a nation that has nothing to do with US invasions at all. It’s not a gotcha moment Putin makes it to be.
The West needs to seriously work on their PR, because Putin’s weak and awful arguments just have far too much reach.