A Russian delegate at the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine has said that the talks have made 'substantial progress' and that an agreed peace treaty may be signed in the coming days. The statement came in what is now the third week of the most devastating war in Europe since the 1939 to 1945 Second World War.
Leonid Slutsky told reporters:
"According to my personal expectations, this progress may grow in the coming days into a joint position of both delegations, into documents for signing."
While this may simply be Russian propaganda, the position was backed up by a statement from a Ukrainian negotiator and presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak who said they expected progress towards peace to be made in the coming days.
Key Russian demands include the recognition of the independence of Luhansk and Donetsk, known collectively as 'the Donbass', the handing over of Crimea to Russia, and the vow of Ukraine to never join NATO or the EU.
The Ukrainian president Vlodomyr Zelensky has said previously that Ukraine will never surrender territory, adding that Ukraine would not accept Russian ultimatums. He said:
"We will not concede in principle on any positions. Russia now understands this. Russia is already beginning to talk constructively. I think that we will achieve some results literally in a matter of day… When it is worked out, there will be a meeting. I think it won't take long for us to get there."
Russia has made substantial progress into Ukraine but has been taking heavy casualties and suffering what appears to be severe logistical issues. A full-scale assault on the capital Kyiv is expected in the coming days with many population centres in Ukraine now under siege from the Russian military.
It is as of yet unclear whether the Putin regimes will seek to only annex a small part of the country or attempt to swallow up the whole of Ukraine, something that would be hugely costly and likely lead to tens of thousands of deaths.
[Based on reporting by: Sky News]
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