هدنة أوكرانيا.. بين اتهامات بوتين ومطالب زيلينسكي

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of seeking a ceasefire to rearm its army, regroup its forces, and prepare for sabotage attacks against his country.

In a speech during a televised meeting today (Wednesday), he questioned: why should we reward them by giving them a break from fighting? It will be exploited to supply the Ukrainian regime with Western weapons, continue forced mobilization, and prepare for various terrorist acts.

Russia revealed that Ukraine rejected an offer for a partial ceasefire for two or three days to allow both sides to retrieve the bodies of the dead from the battlefield.

For his part, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described Ukraine's position during the televised briefing on the results of the peace talks as a grave mistake on the part of the regime.

He added that Russia should not fall for Ukraine's criminal provocations and must utilize negotiations and all means to achieve its war objectives in Ukraine. Putin responded to Lavrov's statements by saying, "I agree with that."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the peace terms proposed by Russia during the Istanbul talks, considering them an unacceptable ultimatum for his country after Moscow demanded that Ukraine withdraw its forces from four regions it declared annexed.

During a press conference, Zelensky said it was an ultimatum directed at us by the Russian side. Therefore, I believe they did not send it before the talks because they realized that if it were revealed, Ukraine would have every right not to attend this meeting in Istanbul. He deemed it pointless to continue the Istanbul talks with the current delegation composition, calling for negotiations with Vladimir Putin.

Zelensky expressed his readiness once again to hold a summit with his counterparts, Russian Vladimir Putin, American Donald Trump, and Turkish Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to advance peace talks with Moscow. He said: we are ready for such a meeting any day, adding that he would propose a ceasefire to the Russians before the leaders' meeting. However, the Kremlin confirmed that a meeting between Putin and Zelensky is conditional on reaching an agreement.

Zelensky announced today (Wednesday) that his country and Russia are ready to exchange 500 prisoners of war from each side by the end of this weekend, just a few days after a round of talks with Moscow in Istanbul.