The U.S. proposals, presented to Ukraine in Paris last week, include having Washington formally recognize annexed Crimea as Russian territory and eventually lifting sanctions against Russia under a future accord, according to three people familiar with the matter. In exchange, Moscow would end hostilities in Ukraine at a time when Russia’s military enjoys battlefield momentum and sizable advantages in troop strength and weaponry.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters Tuesdaythat Ukraine would not recognize Crimea as Russian, noting that it would violate the country’s constitution to do so. Discussing Crimea and other Ukrainian territory helps Russia, he said, by allowing Moscow to continue the war, because “it will not be possible to agree on everything quickly.”
An adviser to Zelensky said the American proposals included some ideas that Kyiv agrees with and others it does not. A Western official said the terms of the proposed deal and concessions expected of Ukraine were “astounding.”….
…
-
Ukraine’s foreign ministry has summoned Beijing’s ambassador as Volodymyr Zelenskyy said citizens of China were working at a drone production site in Russia, possibly using “stolen” Chinese technology. The Ukrainian president said on Tuesday: “I asked the Security Service of Ukraine to transfer information of a broader nature to the Chinese side regarding Chinese citizens who work at the drone factory. We believe that it may be that Russia stole – made an agreement with these citizens outside the agreements with the Chinese leadership – stole these technologies.”
-
Beijing’s ambassador, Ma Shengkun, was summoned over the allegations, as well as evidence of Chinese citizens fighting in the Russian army.“[Ukrainian] deputy foreign minister Yevhen Perebyinis stressed that the participation of Chinese citizens in hostilities against Ukraine on the side of the aggressor state, as well as the involvement of Chinese companies in the production of military products in Russia, are of serious concern and contradict the spirit of partnership between Ukraine and China,” said a Ukrainian statement on Tuesday. Perebyinis “called on the Chinese side to take measures to stop supporting Russia in its aggression against Ukraine, the absence of which has been repeatedly stated by Beijing”.
-
Beijing had not responded to the latest claims at time of writing. Zelenskyy said on Thursday of last week that Ukrainian intelligence showed China was supplying weapons to Russia, including gunpowder and artillery, and that Chinese representatives were involved in weapons production on Russian territory. China dismissed this as groundless, but Tuesday’s statements by Zelenskyy made good on a promise to provide details this week. Two alleged Chinese soldiers have been caught by Ukraine and shown to the press, and Zelenskyy has said there at least 155 Chinese nationals operating on Russia’s side. The Chinese government has consistently denied providing military support to Russia or taking its side in the war.
-
Representatives from Ukraine, the UK, France and the US will meet in London on Wednesday to continue talks on a potential ceasefire. Media reports have suggested the US is promoting a “peace deal” that heavily favours Russia. Donald Trump’s Ukraine envoy, Gen Keith Kellogg, will attend the discussions, according to a US state department spokesperson, Tammy Bruce. Contrary to a previous announcement, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, will not be attending. Even though he is the administration’s Ukraine envoy, Kellogg has been largely sidelined from the publicised peace talks that the US has been holding separately with Russia and Ukraine.
-
David Lammy, the UK foreign secretary, will host the US and European negotiators in London. On Wednesday there was speculation that Russia has told Washington it might be willing to drop its claim to parts of Ukraine it does not occupy, write Dan Harding and Luke Sabbagh, giving rise to a ceasefire along roughly the existing frontlines. Russia has been demanding that Ukraine hand over the entirety of four eastern and southern regions its forces only partly occupy.
-
Russian overnight drone attacks on east, south and central Ukraine damaged civilian infrastructure and businesses in the Poltava region and injured two civilians in the Odesa region, Ukrainian officials said early on Wednesday. Air defence units were also at work in the Kyiv region and in Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, regional governors posted.
-
Russia hit a residential area in the eastern Ukrainian city of Myrnograd with drones on Tuesday, killing three people and wounding two, authorities said. One person was reported dead and 23 wounded after two bombs hit the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, the region’s governor said. Russian strikes wounded another six people in the southern city of Kherson and seven in Kharkiv in the north-east, officials said….
ISW…Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 22, 2025
- The Financial Times (FT) reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin is willing to end the war in Ukraine on the current frontlines. Kremlin officials, including Putin, have repeatedly and explicitly emphasized that Russia maintains its territorial demands over all of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson oblasts, however, while also publicly signaling that Russia has greater territorial ambitions in Ukraine beyond these four oblasts.
- The Moscow Times reported that the Kremlin is attempting to use economic incentives to sway US-Russian talks about the war in Ukraine as the Kremlin is not sincerely interested in US President Donald Trump’s efforts to end the war. ISW cannot independently verify Kremlin sources’ statements, but recent Kremlin behavior is consistent with the Moscow Times‘ insider reporting.
- Any potential future Russian agreement to freeze the front short of Russia’s full control of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson oblasts does not preclude future Russian aggression to achieve Russia’s more extensive territorial demands, especially if the agreement stipulates a moratorium on Ukraine receiving Western military aid.
- Kremlin officials continued efforts on April 22 to blame Ukraine for the lack of progress towards Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s proposed temporary ceasefire on strikes against civilian infrastructure.
- The Kremlin continues to reject Trump’s stated goal of achieving a ceasefire in Ukraine before a full peace settlement to end the war – in contrast to Ukraine’s continued support for a general ceasefire.
- Russian forces continue to innovate their long-range drone strike tactics in order to offset the effectiveness of Ukrainian mobile defense units.
- Russia is reportedly recruiting North Korean citizens to compensate for labor shortages in Russia, indicating that Russian-North Korean cooperation continues to deepen.
- Russian forces recently advanced in Kursk Oblast and near Toretsk
Daily Kos grunt report for Today….
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.