Vladimir Putin has launched more than 100 kamikaze drones at Ukraine just after the evil dictator announced plans for ‘peace talks’ with Ukraine this week – after the West piled pressure for a ceasefire
Vladimir Putin launched a swarm of over 100 new drone attacks on Ukraine despite agreeing to “peace talks” this week – after a middle-of-the-night statement rejecting the West’s ultimatum for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire.
The evil dictator has proposed direct talks with Ukraine on May 15 in Istanbul just hours after European leaders gathered in Kyiv to issue a new threat of sanctions, with Donald Trump’s support, if Putin did not start an end to the deadly war. The Kremlin dictator however appeared to seek to set a trap for Volodymyr Zelensky as he unleashed Shahed kamikaze planes at Ukraine’s capital city and other regions, last night.
The West and Ukraine had demanded a 30-day truce threatening Putin with tough new sanctions, and arm supplies would ramp up to Kyiv. Putin brushed aside demands from Donald Trump, and the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Poland for a month-long ceasefire in which war-ending talks should take place.
Instead, the Russian ruler in his bizarre 1am press conference said he was sending his negotiators to Istanbul ahead of hoped-for talks, and challenged Ukraine to do the same, for talks “without any preconditions” yet with his missiles and drones still flying, potentially wounding and killing civilians.
A rejection by Ukraine will leave Putin to claim Kyiv is not interested in peace – when it is the Kremlin that is seeking to prolong and deepen a war started by Russia. If Zelensky agrees to the talks, it is already clear from Putin’s statement that he is not prepared to budge from demands that leave Ukraine wide open to future invasion.
Despite this dilemma, Zelensky today came out and demanded that Putin agree to a ceasefire by Monday to trigger peace talks in Istanbul. Ukraine’s president said: “This is a good sign that the Russians are finally thinking about ending the war. Everyone in the world has been waiting for this for a very long time.
“And the very first step in the real end of any war is a ceasefire. There is no point in continuing the killings even for a day. We expect Russia to confirm a ceasefire – complete, lasting and reliable – starting tomorrow, May 12, and Ukraine is ready to meet.”
Not waiting to hear Kyiv’s answer, Putin showed no desire for peace and ended his own unilateral three day ceasefire – sending drones to strike at cities. Zhytomyr and Donetsk regions were hit with deafening explosions.
In Kyiv, one woman resident Olena said: “There are explosions of Shahids in Kyiv, you can hear the landings. From us the airport is less than a miles…. you can hear how they are trying to shoot down the drones.”
Yesterday, Keir Starmer met Zelensky as part of the so-called coalition of the willing to put pressure on Putin. The British PM said that support for Ukraine would not stop today, as allies have come to a “point of complete unity”.
Starmer said: “There’s only one country that started this illegal conflict and that was Russia and there’s only one country that stands between peace and that’s Russia.”