Russia-Ukraine war news: Kyiv continues counteroffensive; Putin rebuffs African peace plan
African leaders met with Russian President Vladimir Putin this weekend in a bid to persuade him to seek peace talks with Kyiv. But Putin rebuffed their proposed measures, claiming that Russia has not refused to talk to Ukraine, Reuters reported, while Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the proposed peace initiative is “very difficult to implement.”
Ukrainian fighters driving Kyiv’s counteroffensive operations are making “small advances” in several areas, including the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions and around Bakhmut, Britain’s Defense Ministry said Sunday, noting that both sides are experiencing high casualties.
Russia’s deployment of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus is “totally irresponsible,” President Biden said as he boarded Air Force One Saturday, one day after Putin confirmed that Russia has transferred some of the weapons. On Friday, Putin said Russia has no reason to resort to nuclear weapons but that his country’s deployment of tactical nukes to Belarus will be complete by the end of the year.
after a trip to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. In St. Petersburg, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called for an end to the war “through negotiations” and “diplomatic means,” highlighting the consequences for the world, including high grain and fuel prices. Ukraine and Russia’s conditions for peace talks are vastly different: Kyiv wants Russia to withdraw all troops from all occupied territories, while Moscow wants Ukraine to accept Russia’s illegal claim to some Ukrainian territories.
Russia aims to defeat counteroffensive with mines, artillery and aviation: The initial days of Ukraine’s counteroffensive may have yielded minor gains, but Russia has used the past seven months, Mary Ilyushina reports, to shore up its reserves and ammunition and gather more drones. Its forces have fortified the 900-mile front line, stretching from Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine’s southeast to Russia’s Belgorod region, just over the border.
While Russia’s defense has weaknesses, military experts said, it is likely to slow down and impede Ukraine’s plans. “They’ve had months to create a defensive plan, they’ve dug in and used the terrain, they’ve been sitting there for six months laying little traps and mines,” said Dara Massicot, an expert on the Russian military at Rand Corp. “They feel as confident as they are probably going to feel that they understand their defensive lines.”
Source: The Washington Post
