Peace talks with Ukraine are ‘dead,’ according to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin has stated that until an agreement is reached that is acceptable to Russia, his forces will continue their offensive against Ukraine.
On Tuesday, April 12, Putin made his comments as Russian forces bombarded Ukrainian military sites and residential areas in the country’s east, as well as launching new missile attacks.
Putin claimed peace talks had halted following what he called a “fake” situation in Bucha, a village west of Kyiv where Ukrainian officials reported the discovery of several hundred dead residents this month after Russian soldiers retreated, in his first comments on the war in almost a month.
Before Moscow’s withdrawal at the end of March, Ukrainian and Western officials conducted investigations into possible war crimes perpetrated in Bucha and other formerly Russian-held cities in northern Ukraine.
Ukrainian authorities are also looking into claims that Ukrainian forces were targeted by a Russian chemical strike in Mariupol, where Russia is currently struggling to secure its gains.
Putin also claimed that Ukrainian negotiators had “deviated” from Istanbul accords.
Ukraine proposed a neutral status and international security assurances last month, but the conflicting parties – Ukraine and Russia – have not come any closer to a prospective cease-fire.
“We have once again found ourselves in a dead end,” Putin added.
“Inconsistency on key issues has caused well-publicized difficulty in reaching final agreements on the negotiating track that are acceptable to us.” Unless that occurs, the military operation will continue until it is completed and the objectives set out at the outset are met.” Putin stated that the offensive’s main purpose is to “assist people in Donbas,” indicating that his forces will attack the eastern region. During a visit to the Vostochny Cosmodrome, a Russian spaceport in the country’s Far East, with his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, Putin stated that “there is no doubt” the target will be met.
High-precision air- and sea-based missiles launched overnight at the Starokostiantyniv military airfield in the western Khmelnytskyi region, as well as an ammunition depot near Havrylivka in the Kyiv region, destroyed an ammunition depot and a hangar with Ukrainian aircraft, according to Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov.
The Ukrainian Air Force claimed responsibility for shooting down a Russian plane, two helicopters, and four drones.