Russian President Vladimir Putin laid out conditions on Monday for ending his invasion of Ukraine, as Moscow’s forces shelled the country’s second city and Western nations prepared even more sanctions.
Putin’s ultimatum came as Moscow and Kyiv held their first talks since the outbreak of war last Thursday, which shocked the world and provoked a massive diplomatic, economic, cultural and sporting backlash.
Shortly before the talks broke up, agreeing merely to hold a second round of negotiations “soon”, Putin laid out his prerequisites for ending the war in a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron.
“Putin stressed that a settlement is possible only if Russia’s legitimate security interests are unconditionally taken into account, including the recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea, the demilitarisation and denazification of the Ukrainian state and ensuring its neutral status,” the Kremlin said.
Fighting continued to rage during the dialogue, with at least 11 people killed by Russian attacks in Ukraine’s second largest city of Kharkiv, near the Russian border.
More than 350 civilians, including 14 children, have been killed during the invasion, Ukraine says, while more than a half a million people have fled the country.
Oleg Sinegubov, the governor of the region that includes Kharkiv, said the “Russian enemy is bombing residential areas of Kharkiv, where there is no critical infrastructure, where there are no positions of the armed forces”.
An AFP photographer in the city inspected damage caused by fighting on Sunday, finding a destroyed school, as well as several burned out Russian infantry vehicles.
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Russian corpses in army fatigues could also be seen in the streets.
In Kyiv, many were preparing for a fresh assault with makeshift barricades dotting the streets.
The Russian army urged Ukrainians to leave Kyiv “freely” on one highway out ahead of what is an expected Russian offensive to capture the capital.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said it was “gravely concerned” as Russian forces advanced towards Ukraine’s largest nuclear plant, strongly warning against any military action that could threaten the Zaporizhzhia facility.
Ruble plummets
Long queues for groceries snaked through the streets of Kyiv on Monday after a strict 36-hour military curfew was lifted and volunteer militias learned how to make home-made explosives.
“We will greet them with Molotov cocktails and bullets to the head,” bank employee Viktor Rudnichenko told AFP. “The only flowers they might get from us will be for their grave.”
The Russian ruble crashed to a record low as sanctions imposed by the West over the weekend had an immediate impact in Moscow, forcing the central bank to more than double its key interest rate to 20 percent.
Putin also announced emergency measures intended to prop up the ruble, including banning residents from transferring money abroad.
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