How is the poisoning investigation going? Huh...one of the folks supposedly poisoned said he was fine, and to not believe the rumors. Gee, who coulda known? Too funny. Abramovich and Rustem Umerov, a Ukrainian parliamentary deputy and negotiator, flew to Istanbul, Turkey to be treated, according to the people. It is unclear who was behind the attack or what type of poison might have been used, they said. They have both recovered and Abramovich remains involved in attempts to broker a peace deal. Umerov said on Twitter he is “fine” and did not confirm the report of poisoning.
Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks: Russia Willing To Let Ukraine Join EU If It Stays Out Of NATO, Report Says https://www.forbes.com/sites/joewal...tays-out-of-nato-report-says/?sh=84cd97772355 Topline Russia may allow Ukraine to join the European Union if it pledges to stay out of NATO, the Financial Times reported Monday, as Ukrainian officials express openness to a neutrality pledge as part of broader negotiations to end Russia’s invasion of the country. Russian and Ukrainian negotiators are weighing a potential deal that would require Ukraine to be militarily neutral—barring the country from joining NATO or hosting foreign bases—but allow it to seek security guarantees from other countries and pursue EU membership, according to the Financial Times, which cited four unnamed sources. Ukrainian politician and negotiator David Arakhamia told the newspaper these security guarantees could require countries like the United States to assist Ukraine if it is attacked, an arrangement he compared to NATO’s Article 5 collective defense rule. Preliminary ceasefire discussions don’t include any requirement that Ukraine’s government “demilitarize” or “denazify,” two of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s stated objectives when he ordered the invasion last month, the Financial Times reported. Negotiators have met for ceasefire talks several times since Russia invaded, and they’re scheduled to meet again in Turkey on Tuesday. It’s still unclear whether a deal between Ukraine and Russia is on the horizon: Arakhamia told the Financial Times there are still “unresolved points” between the two sides, and some Ukrainian and Western officials have appeared to doubt Russia’s sincerity. Key Background When Russian forces began invading Ukraine more than a month ago, many Western officials believed Putin was seeking to overthrow Zelensky’s government and replace him with a more pro-Kremlin leader. The move would have effectively ended Ukraine’s on-and-off push to develop closer ties with NATO and the EU, a gambit Russia staunchly opposes. However, the Russian military has struggled against stiffer-than-expected Ukrainian resistance, possibly leading it to scale back its ambitions. The Kremlin said earlier this month it’s open to neutrality for Ukraine along the lines of Austria or Sweden, neither of which are NATO members. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also appears to be open to neutral status. He told Russian reporters Sunday he’s willing to talk about neutrality as long as Ukrainian citizens get to vote on the measure and third-party countries give Ukraine security assurances, and Zelensky has conceded in recent weeks that NATO is unlikely to admit Ukraine soon. Crucial Quote “Security guarantees and neutrality, non-nuclear status of our state. We are ready to go for it,” Zelensky told reporters Sunday, according to Reuters’ translation. Tangent Ukraine passed a constitutional amendment in 2019 that enshrined NATO and EU membership as goals for the country, but progress has been slow, even though NATO announced in 2008 it will eventually admit Ukraine. NATO accepts new members by consensus, meaning all 30 of the organization’s existing members will need to find Ukraine’s application acceptable. Some NATO members likely worry that further expansion of the alliance—which has accepted several former Soviet allies since the late 1990s, drawing Putin’s ire—could damage relations with Russia, and Ukraine will need to meet NATO’s standards for democratic government and military competence before joining. EU membership is also a daunting and time-consuming process that would force Ukraine to meet political, economic and legal requirements and earn unanimous support from the 27-country bloc. What We Don’t Know Territorial disputes are likely to be a major point of contention between Russia and Ukraine, and the Financial Times reports a proposed ceasefire deal between the two sides could leave discussions on territory to a later date. Ukraine’s military intelligence chief warned over the weekend Russia may try to partition the country like the Korean Peninsula, splitting off portions of eastern and southern Ukraine that have been occupied by Russian forces over the last month, and Russian military officials claimed last week they’re now focusing on “liberation” of the country’s east, which has been partly controlled by pro-Russian separatists since 2014. Ukraine and most other countries also don’t recognize Russia’s claims to the Crimean Peninsula, which it annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Zelensky said Sunday he’s seeking a “compromise” on the status of separatist-held areas in eastern Ukraine, and he doesn’t intend to capture back all Russian-held territory by force.
How very Soviet of them... Zelensky claims Russian forces are ‘kidnapping' and ‘murdering' Ukrainian city officials https://www.express.co.uk/news/worl...-kidnap-and-murder-Ukraine-city-officials-ont
Translated into Reality: "Our plan to seize all of Ukraine did not go very well, we are going to try to hang on to the resource rich eastern regions". or in Monty Python terms... "On second thought, let's not go to Kyiv. 'Tis a silly place." Brave Sir Vlad runs away.
Ukraine only needs another month and they could finish off the whole Russian military, that sounds like a better deal.
The drone operators who halted Russian convoy headed for Kyiv https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...he-russian-armoured-vehicles-heading-for-kyiv
Should have followed his daddy's path becoming a weatherman, then being promoted to happytalker sitting on a couch with a dumb blonde and an even dumber male than himself.
The Russians have to appear to have some sort of semblance of peace if and when they start defaulting on their bonds. If the Russians can’t get outside money coming in soon they will have a very diminished country. This is not saying that Ukrainians did not totally smash the best of the Russian military and that this wouldn’t be a retreat, because if the Russians do actually pull back they are technically in retreat.
This bit about Russia allegedly toning down military actions around Kiev to create a better atmosphere for peace talks is all a ruse of course. But it all is to the benefit of the Ukrainians because they have piles of weaponry coming in over the last week to ten days and need some time to get up and running with it. Plus they deperately need some food and chances of it arriving while the Russian are pretending to lighten up a bit for show at the talks helps with the delivery of those supplies. As I have said a couple times, I am all in favor of the Russian "we are pulling back and refocusing jive, AS LONG AS the Ukrainians do not get diverted one iota. If talks fall apart, they should be positioned to kill all those Russians around Kiev. One could argue that Russia is just buying time for all their foreign fighters to get in place and that could be too. But those guys tend to be highly butcherous but not much on strategy and coordination so I am not sure yet how much to worry about them. But the ruskies need to worry about the incoming weaponry plus one of the nato countries might do the deed on delivering some planes. I don't think they will make that much difference but the Ukrainians have convinced themselves that it will and if it fires them up, well, fine. They are the ones that need to stay motivated. Might not happen too because de-escalation talk. Whatever, just keep preparing to kill Ruskies no matter what. No side diversions from Ruskie games.