The Daily Populous Sunday February 8th, 2026 evening edition
Authored by newsukraine.rbc.ua and submitted by razdvatri4

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said that a chance for peace between Russia and Ukraine in 2022 was lost due to external interference.

Read also: Trump to convene Board of Peace - When and why

According to the prime minister, in April 2022, Kyiv and Moscow were very close to reaching a peace agreement, but the process, Babiš claims, was disrupted after intervention by Ukraine’s Western partners.

Andrej Babiš directly blamed then-British prime minister Boris Johnson for the failure to complete the negotiations.

According to Babiš, after Boris Johnson’s visit to Ukraine, the negotiation process was derailed, and the chance for a quick end to the war was lost.

The Czech prime minister also noted that diplomatic efforts to end the war have now intensified. At the same time, he is convinced that Europe alone cannot stop the war. He called Donald Trump a key player in achieving peace.

"The negotiations are intense. It seems they are approaching some long-term solution, ending the war and creating stable security guarantees for Ukraine. But Europe will not be able to do this without Donald Trump," Babiš said.

Separately, the Czech prime minister called on European countries to resume direct dialogue with Russia, seeing it as a necessary condition for achieving a ceasefire. According to him, negotiations with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin could be conducted by the leaders of key European countries.

Babiš listed the leaders who could sit at the negotiating table with the Kremlin:

Keir Starmer (prime minister of Britain)

Giorgia Meloni (prime minister of Italy)

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky constantly says that Ukraine has long insisted on developing a clear, step-by-step action plan, the so-called Sequence Plan, which would clearly outline the parties’ actions and the deadlines for implementing agreements.

He also noted that the US wants to end Russia’s war against Ukraine by the beginning of summer and may apply diplomatic pressure according to this timeline.

Meanwhile, Estonia and Latvia have supported resuming negotiations between Europe and Russia, specifically calling for European countries to participate in peace talks on Ukraine.

Past_Key_1054 on February 8th, 2026 at 11:52 UTC »

I've no love for Boris Johnson, but Babiš can get in the bin. Putin, and Putin alone is responsible for starting and continuing the war.

The_Bird_Wizard on February 8th, 2026 at 11:47 UTC »

Nah fuck off Ukraine is like the one thing Boris did right

Free-Way-9220 on February 8th, 2026 at 11:27 UTC »

This is a common complaint from the Putinists. "Why didn't Boris Jonson demand Ukraine's surrender at the beginning of the war"