Volodymyr Zelensky has reiterated publicly that he is ready to meet Vladimir Putin as kyiv and Mariupol continue to come under Russian assault. Even Odessa was the scene of an attack. Joe Biden considers his Russian counterpart to have his “back to the wall” and therefore quick to resort to more extreme tactics such as sending in chemical weapons.
“Now is the time to meet the Russian president”insists Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview with Suspilnea regional media. “We are for peace, I repeat. No matter how hard it is, it’s better than war. Even though we hate these troops who are destroying us and killing our people, we must sit down and talk if we want peace. The right word is negotiate. Because it is necessary”, says the Ukrainian president, while stressing that he is ready to discuss Donbass and Crimea without accepting an ultimatum.
Ultimatum rejected for the city of Mariupol for example, yet transformed into “modern Warsaw ghetto where people are doomed to starve”we read in the Kyiv Post. The people live there “a descent into hell”comments the evening pointing to the shortage of water and heating in “winter temperatures”. The weather notes for his part that “the destruction of this strategic port is now taking place without witnesses”, the last two journalists present having left the area “abandoned under Russian bombs”. The death toll is said to be at least 3,000 dead. Mariupol on the Sea of Azov links the Donbass to Crimea, illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. Hence Moscow’s interest.