Russian Forces Advance, No Deal on Cease-fire. Bungling Biden: Sanctions!
Putin signals determination to continue war
Russia deepened its military offensive in southern Ukraine, penetrating the city of Kherson and pushing toward Zaporizhya, as another round of talks failed to reach an agreement on a cease-fire.
In a televised address, Russian President Vladimir Putin signaled that he is determined to continue to pursue the war, saying that the invasion is proceeding according to plan and successfully achieving its goals.
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators, who first met in Belarus on Monday, shook hands as they gathered for the second round of talks Thursday afternoon. Mr. Zelensky’s adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, tweeted Thursday night that “unfortunately, the results Ukraine needs are not yet achieved.”
A joint statement read out by Mr. Podolyak said that the two sides, however, have agreed to organize humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians from besieged cities and to deliver food and medication there, with limited cease-fires for these evacuations.
In a 90-minute phone call Thursday with French leader Emmanuel Macron, the Russian president left little room for optimism about the talks and the course of the conflict.
Mr. Putin said that he wanted Ukraine to disarm before Moscow agreed to a cease-fire, according to a French official. If Ukraine refuses, Russia will obtain its goals by force.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian compared the circumstances facing Ukraine’s urban centers to Aleppo, in northern Syria, which was decimated by the Russian-backed forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad when bungling Biden was second fiddle to Obama.
“The worst is still ahead of us,” Mr. Le Drian said, adding that Kharkiv, a predominantly Russian-speaking city in eastern Ukraine, and Mariupol on the coast of the Azov Sea were at risk of being surrounded.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-forces-advance-in-southern-ukraine-ahead-of-cease-fire-talks-11646307424
