Russian forces will seize a bigger slice of Ukrainian territory unless Kyiv agrees to a ceasefire, a senior Russian diplomat has claimed.
Andrey Kelin, Russia’s ambassador to the UK, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government had more to lose by prolonging the war.
He spoke to The National on Tuesday, as US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin to bring both sides to the negotiating table.
Reports suggested Mr Witkoff, accompanied by Mr Trump’s adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, left with no indication of a breakthrough.
Mr Trump has pledged to end the nearly four-year war, but progress has been slow. He has lashed out at leaders on both sides.
“In the last three months, during the autumn, we have liberated 86 settlements – and the tempo of our advancement is increasing,” Mr Kelin told Hadley Gamble, chief international anchor for IMI, which owns The National and Sky News Arabia.
If Mr Trump pulls out of the talks, or Mr Zelenskyy refuses to progress them, Ukraine will lose more land, Mr Kelin claimed.
“We will continue movement in a higher tempo, and we will get much more of Ukraine’s territory … and they will have to withdraw. And we will end [on] terms [that] will be much worse for Ukrainians.”
Russia has seized about 20 per cent of Ukraine since February 2022. The two sides have in recent weeks fought for control of Pokrovsk, a crucial industrial heartland close to the front line. Russia claims it has seized much of the city, with Ukraine on the back foot.
The meeting in Moscow took place after weeks of intense diplomacy but failed to achieve much, with Russia claiming parts of the proposed peace plan were unacceptable.
Asked how Russia will ever re-establish trust with its European counterparts, Mr Kelin said he had “no idea”. Mr Putin, on Tuesday, dressed in army-style battle fatigues, said he was ready for war with Europe.
“We don’t need it. If this will come, this will come naturally,” Mr Kelin said.
“But there are many people in the West, also in the UK, who do not trust the current official line towards Russia,” he said, without specifying whom.
“And I have many cases when people are approaching me and saying, ‘we don’t believe this government. We still would like to be in good terms with Russia and with Russians'”.
Russia shows ‘no sign of engaging meaningfully’
Nato foreign ministers met in Brussels on Wednesday to accelerate defence investments as tensions rise among European allies over how to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine.
Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte issued a statement before the closed-door meeting in which he said European states and Canada were “really stepping up defence investments, and that’s good, but we cannot afford to rest on our laurels – we all need to pull our weight and fast”.
UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said that, while Mr Trump was “pursuing a just and lasting peace”, Russia had shown no sign of engaging meaningfully in discussions and escalated its attacks against Ukraine, including strikes against its energy infrastructure. Ms Cooper announced an additional £10 million ($13 million) to support repairs to energy infrastructure.
Norway, Germany and Poland also pledged a joint $500 million donation for Ukraine to purchase US military equipment. “Europe’s security is on the line. Europe’s destiny is on the line,” Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said.
Central%20Bank’s%20push%20for%20a%20robust%20financial%20infrastructure
%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3ECBDC%20real-value%20pilot%20held%20with%20three%20partner%20institutions%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPreparing%20buy%20now%2C%20pay%20later%20regulations%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPreparing%20for%20the%202023%20launch%20of%20the%20domestic%20card%20initiative%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPhase%20one%20of%20the%20Financial%20Infrastructure%20Transformation%20(FiT)%20completed%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A
Herc’s Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
Jawan
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAtlee%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shah%20Rukh%20Khan%2C%20Nayanthara%2C%20Vijay%20Sethupathi%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20myZoi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Syed%20Ali%2C%20Christian%20Buchholz%2C%20Shanawaz%20Rouf%2C%20Arsalan%20Siddiqui%2C%20Nabid%20Hassan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2037%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Initial%20undisclosed%20funding%20from%20SC%20Ventures%3B%20second%20round%20of%20funding%20totalling%20%2414%20million%20from%20a%20consortium%20of%20SBI%2C%20a%20Japanese%20VC%20firm%2C%20and%20SC%20Venture%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Generation Start-up: Awok company profile
Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
Principal Investors: self-financed by founder
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million