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Vladimir Putin accused European countries on Tuesday of undermining Washington’s efforts to end the war in Ukraine, as US envoy Steve Witkoff spoke with the Russian president in Moscow.
Putin said on Tuesday, “They (the Europeans) have no peace agenda. They are in favor of war. And even when they try to make alleged adjustments to (Donald) Trump’s proposal, it is clear that these changes are aimed at the same purpose: blocking the entire peace process.”
“Russia Calling!” Speaking at an investment forum in Moscow, he said: “They put forward demands that they know are completely unacceptable to Russia, and then their goal is to blame the collapse of the peace process on us.”
In a belligerent speech, Putin threatened to “completely cut off Ukraine from the sea” in response to attacks on tankers linked to Russia.
He stated that “We have no intention of fighting Europe – I have said this hundreds of times. But if Europe decides to start a war, we are ready right now.”
Witkoff’s visit came as Russian officials said they were willing to discuss a peace plan drafted by the U.S. envoy with Moscow’s input, but opposed a revised, shorter version incorporating Ukrainian officials’ changes. The full terms of that revised plan have not been revealed.
On the eve of the talks the Kremlin claimed Russian forces had captured Pokrovsk, a town in Donetsk province that they fought for more than a year to capture while suffering heavy casualties, as well as Vovchansk in Kharkiv.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia’s top military commander, Valery Gerasimov, had informed the Russian president of the gains during a visit to a command post on Monday.
Putin said that Krasnoarmik, Russia’s name for Pokrovsk, is “completely under the control of the Russian military. If anyone has doubts, we invite foreign journalists – including Ukrainian journalists – to see for themselves who actually holds the city.”
Gerasimov has previously made exaggerated claims about Russian gains, including the alleged siege of Pokrovsk. Andriy Kovalenko, an official on Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, dismissed the Russian claims as a “cognitive show” aimed at influencing US negotiators.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said: “The boastful statements of the leadership of the aggressive state regarding the ‘capture’ of these settlements by the Russian army do not correspond to reality.
“This is another attempt by the Kremlin to use a staged ‘flag-planting’ video for propaganda purposes to influence participants in international negotiations.”
Witkoff’s trip to Moscow is his sixth this year, but the first in which he has not traveled alone: ​​He was joined by the US president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who has taken a more active advisory role in peace talks since helping broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
A rift remains between Kiev and Moscow over territorial concessions and post-war security guarantees.
A major problem is Russia’s insistence that Ukrainian forces give up the remaining fifth of Donetsk province, which they still hold nearly four years after Russia launched a full-scale invasion. Kiev insists that any talks on the territory should start from the Line of Current Control, something Trump himself said after his October meeting with Zelensky.
Ukrainian officials are concerned that Vitkoff will again side with Moscow during this week’s talks.
A senior Ukrainian official said, “This has happened several times, where we coordinated our position with the US and then Vitkoff goes to Moscow and after meeting with Putin, Trump makes a statement that takes us back to square one.”
During a phone call with Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, Vitkoff agreed that Ukraine’s surrender of the rest of Donetsk was a prerequisite for a deal, according to a leaked recording of the conversation reported by Bloomberg.
Speaking in the Irish Parliament on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky did not address the ongoing talks between Washington and Moscow, but said the time had come for seized Russian assets to be used to help rebuild his country. “The attacker must be held accountable for what was done,” he said.
On the battlefield, Deep State, a Ukrainian analytical group close to the Defense Ministry that monitors the front lines, said on Monday evening that “the situation remains critical” in and around Pokrovsk, but fighting for the citadel and its satellite city of Mirnohrad was continuing.
It said Russian forces were “trying to establish physical control” in the disputed areas, as well as laying landmines and military obstacles and carrying out ambushes.
The Center for Defense Strategies, a Kiev-based security think-tank, said Russian forces had taken control of at least half of Pokrovsk. “The enemy has the manpower advantage and is attempting to mass assault infantry around the city,” he wrote in a briefing on Monday evening.
The CDS said that pressure from three sides was forcing Ukrainian forces in Mynohrad to “retreat to avoid encirclement”.
“Russian forces are slowly advancing, but have not been able to completely capture Pokrovsk, even though they entered the city more than 120 days ago.”
Additional reporting by Shane Harrison in Dublin
