The ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, invoked a decree of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine on the impossibility of holding negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putinaccording to a decree published Tuesday on the official website of the Ukrainian president’s office.
The decree was issued “To recognize the impossibility of holding negotiations with the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin”, says the document.
Zelensky ordered the country’s government to strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities by increasing the volume of military and technical aid. The president also recommended to the Verkhovna Rada to speed up the process of passing relevant bills on the introduction of sanctions against Russia.
It is worth mentioning that the Ukrainian forces have repelled Putin’s army since the beginning of September, in what the international media call a “counteroffensive”, which has led Ukraine to recover several territories occupied by the Kremlin forces.
Here is an interactive map of the territorial recovery of Volodymyr Zelensky’s army:
Reactions of the Russian president
Last Friday, Ukrainian President Zelensky announced that new sanctions would be introduced against several thousand Russian legal entities and individuals, as well as against the organizers of the referendums in the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. He noted that the list was “really long” and would include “pretty famous names.”
On September 30, a ceremony was held in the Kremlin, during which Russian President Vladimir Putin signed with the heads of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics and the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions treaties on the new territories joining Russia.
Previously, referendums were held there, and residents of the regions supported joining Russia by majority vote.
During the ceremony, President Putin urged kyiv to immediately cease hostilities and return to the negotiating table, but on his terms.