Russia has rejected accusations from the Trump administration that it is attempting to “stall for time”, as negotiations with Ukraine and the US on bringing an end to the war grind to a halt.
The US’s envoy to the Ukraine War, Keith Kellogg, made the accusation on social media platform X on Monday, urging Russia and Ukraine to agree to a “immediate ceasefire” and further talks to end the war.
“Russia cannot continue to stall for time while it bombs civilian targets in Ukraine.”
Asked about the remarks, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Russia was grateful to US President Donald Trump’s team for helping to facilitate talks but that Moscow was not stalling the talks.
“No one is delaying anything here,” Mr Peskov told reporters in Moscow.
The US is accusing Russia, led by President Vladimir Putin, of attempting to “stall” Ukraine peace negotiations. (AP: Sergei Bobylev)
“We are naturally in favour of achieving the goals that we are trying to achieve through the special military operation via political and diplomatic means.
“Therefore, we are not interested in drawing out anything.”
Macron, Putin hold call
The denial from the Kremlin came as Vladimir Putin held a “substantial” call with French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday, in which the Russian president urged the west to accept “new territorial realities” for any ceasefire.
Ukraine has been unwilling to concede territory captured by Russia as part of any peace agreement.
It is the first phone call between Mr Putin and Mr Macron since the war began in February 2022, and France, a NATO member state, has been providing military support for Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to send troops to perform peacekeeping duties in Ukraine after a ceasefire is declared. (Reuters: Yoan Valat)
During Tuesday’s call, Mr Macron’s office said, “the president emphasised France’s unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
On Ukraine, Mr Putin reiterated his position to Mr Macron that the war was “a direct consequence of the West’s policy”, which he said had “ignored Russia’s security interests” over the past few years.
Ukrainian drones strike deep in Russia
A lack of diplomatic progress between the US, Ukraine and Russia came as both sides of the three-year war increasingly turn to drone warfare.
On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the country’s domestic production of drones was about to increase in response to Russia’s expanded barrages.
Analysis by the Associated Press found Russia had launched a record 5,438 drones at Ukraine in June.
Drones are being increasingly embraced by both sides of the Ukraine War. (AP: Efrem Lukatsky)
On the same day Mr Zelenskyy vowed to increase production of drones, three people were killed and 35 others injured in a Ukrainian drone strike on a factory deep in Russian territory.
The strikes were targeted at a factory in the city of Izhevsk, some 1,300 kilometres from Ukraine, according to local governor Alexander Brechalov on his Telegram channel on Tuesday.
Mr Brechalov did not name the targeted facility, but a Ukrainian security official earlier told Reuters that at least two long-range drones operated by the Security Service of Ukraine struck the Kupol plant, which manufactures drones and air defence systems, and caused a fire.
A column of black smoke could be seen billowing into the sky from the site of a fire at a cluster of buildings in videos shared by the Ukrainian official who said the plant’s production facilities and warehouses had been hit.
Reuters could not independently verify the claim.
Mr Brechalov said he had he informed Russian President Vladimir Putin about the incident.
it follows a similar attack last month in which Ukrainian drones targeted a number of Russian aircraft, destroying 34 per cent of Russia’s air missile carriers
Russia claims to control all of Ukrainian region
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been raging for more than three years, with Russian forces making some territorial gains in recent months.
Forces at the direction of Russian President Vladimir Putin have focused their fighting in four regions in Ukraine’s east.
On Tuesday, the Russian-backed head of Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region, Leonid Pasechnik, said “100 per cent” of the region was now occupied by Russia.
Luhansk, which has an area of 26,700 square km, is the first Ukrainian region to fall fully under the established control of Russian forces since the country annexed Crimea in 2014.
In September 2022, Mr Putin declared that Luhansk — along with the partially controlled Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions — was being incorporated into Russia, a step Western European states said was illegal and that most of the world did not recognise.
Ukraine says that Russia’s claims to Luhansk and other areas of what is internationally recognised to be Ukraine are groundless and illegal, and Kyiv has promised to never recognise Russian sovereignty over the areas.
Russia controls nearly 19 per cent of what is internationally recognised to be Ukraine.
North Korea mourns soldiers killed in Ukraine
North Korea’s state media showed on Monday leader Kim Jong Un draping coffins with the national flag in what appeared to be the repatriation of soldiers killed fighting for Russia against Ukraine, as the countries marked a landmark military treaty.
Mr Kim and Mr Putin signed a strategic partnership treaty in June last year in Pyongyang, which included a mutual defence pact.
In a series of photographs displayed in the backdrop of a gala performance by North Korean and visiting Russian artists in Pyongyang, the country’s leader is seen by rows of a half a dozen coffins, covering them with flags and pausing briefly with both hands resting on them.
North Korean state TV showed the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un draping a flag over a soldier’s coffin. (Reuters/KRT)
The scene followed images of North Korean and Russian soldiers waving their national flags with patriotic notes written in Korean.
Mr Kim was seen at the gala seemingly overcome with emotion and audience members wiping away tears.
North Korea’s state KRT television aired the event.
Reuters