Former President Medvedev emphasizes that diplomacy and war can occur “simultaneously”
The Russian Ministry of Defense reported this Saturday the capture of two more towns in eastern Ukrainian regions, hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, met in Alaska to try to build bridges in the conflict.
Specifically, Moscow has declared the town of Kolodezi, in the Donetsk region, and Voronoe, in Dnipropetrovsk, “liberated.” The Ministry of Defense had already reported progress on other fronts in recent days, amid an apparent intensification of the offensive that has brought Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to power.
Russia is not currently considering any gestures on the battlefield to bring Ukraine closer together, and in fact, the meeting between Putin and Trump ended without any tangible agreement. The US president himself suggested this Saturday that it is better to go “directly” to a peace agreement and not be satisfied with “a simple ceasefire.”
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, for his part, asserted on Telegram that the Alaska meeting demonstrated that the offensive in Ukraine and dialogue can occur “simultaneously,” thus suggesting that it is not necessary for Russian forces to cease their attacks.
Medvedev, currently vice-chairman of the Russian Security Council, explained that Putin put Moscow’s “conditions” on the table to end the conflict and that Trump has pledged not to increase the “pressure,” at least “for now.”
