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“We will stop our bombing of Mariupol as soon as Ukrainian forces there lower their weapons.” Russian President Vladimir Putin did not make this request directly to Kiev, but mentioned it in a phone call he had with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, confirmed by the Kremlin.
French officials, meanwhile, say the Russian leader has agreed to consider plans to evacuate civilians from the devastated city, parts of which, as satellite photos show, have been reduced to rubble.
The Russian offensive in the besieged city does not recognize a repulse even in front of the Red Cross, whose building, as claimed by the ombudsman of Ukraine, Lyudmyla Denisova, has been hit by air strikes and artillery. The Russians are not letting go of Mariupol, which is considered strategically important for their advancement, blocking some 160,000 civilians there without access to drinking water, food and other basic supplies.
The former Russian foreign minister has tried to unravel Russia’s alienated strategy in Ukraine, arguing that Putin is trying to buy time before “hitting harder”.
Andrei Kozyrev, Russia’s top diplomat from 1990-1996, analyzed Russia’s promises to reduce military operations around Kiev and Chernihiv, saying it was not because Putin had suddenly decided to behave well, but for due to the resistance of the Ukrainians, which in diplomatic terms, has made him look very idob. The former Russian politician, a staunch opponent of the war in Ukraine, stressed that the reduction of military activity could be a maneuver for Russia to buy time for regrouping and strike harder.
“Putin’s regime understands only the language of force. “The defeat near Kiev has made him look weak and he is applying new military maneuvers,” Kozyrev said.
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