“At this particular moment, these peace negotiations are far from real negotiations,” Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, who chairs Ukraine’s Parliamentary Committee on Integration of Ukraine to the European Union, told a small group of reporters at a roundtable hosted by the German Marshall Fund think tank.
“Definitely, I think that Putin is using this as a smokescreen, buying time to regroup … and sending false, lying messages to the whole world,” she said.
“We feel these are not real peace talks at this point,” said MP Anastasia Radina, who heads the parliament’s Committee on Anti-Corruption Policy. “We feel that what Russia is doing is trying to save face. They say they are withdrawing troops from Kiev region. That’s not true for one simple reason. They’re not withdrawing. … They were kicked (out).”
Radina said there is only “one way out of the war, and that is for Ukraine to win.”
Their remarks came one day after the Russian Ministry of Defense said that it had decided to “drastically reduce hostilities” around Kyiv and Chernihiv. US officials, including President Joe Biden, remain skeptical of the announcement.
“We’ll see,” Biden said on Tuesday when asked about Russia’s claims. “I don’t read anything into it until I see what their actions are. We’ll see if they follow through on what they’re suggesting.”
More weapons needed
Ukraine’s military is seeking foreign assistance obtaining reconnaissance and attack drones, tactical radars, electronic warfare anti-drone systems and close-air support aircraft, according to Ukraine’s most recent list of needs provided to Congress.
The list delivered to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, which was obtained by CNN, also includes help treating wounded troops and repairing equipment, including mobile military medical hospitals, the repairs of armored vehicles in neighboring countries and aircraft to help transport weapons.
Rep. Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat, said at a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Wednesday that latest the…
Source : cnn
