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Vladimir Putin’s efforts to end its three-year war with Ukraine are “a drawn-out process,” the Kremlin has claimed – despite Donald Trump’s anger at the Russian leader dragging his feet over a ceasefire, and Moscow’s repeated aerial assaults on Ukraine.
“We are working to implement some ideas in connection with the Ukrainian settlement. This work is ongoing,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters
It comes after the US president told NBC’s Kristen Welker that he was “p***** off” after Putin called for elections in Ukraine and again questioned the credibility of Volodymyr Zelensky’s government, despite the Ukrainian leader being his nation’s elected leader.
Russia rejected a US proposal for an immediate and full 30-day halt in the fighting and set tough conditions for a partial ceasefire in the Black Sea, through which both countries ship grain and cargo. Mr Trump had promised to end the conflict on his election trail last year.
When asked about President Trump’s anger, Mr Peskov said: “There is nothing concrete yet that we could and should announce. This is a drawn-out process because of the difficulty of its substance.”
Mr Trump’s escalating criticism of Russia followed weeks of being accused of taking Putin’s side in Europe’s largest conflict since World War II.
While Mr Peskov did not directly address President Trump’s criticism of Russia, he said Putin “remains absolutely open to contacts” with the US president.
But both analysts and Western and Ukrainian officials have said the countries are still preparing for a spring-summer battlefield campaign.
President Zelensky said on Sunday that Russia’s relentless attacks showed its unwillingness to seek a settlement.
“The geography and brutality of Russian strikes, not just occasionally, but literally every day and night, show that Putin couldn’t care less about diplomacy,” Mr Zelensky said in his daily address.
“And almost every day, in response to this proposal, there are Russian drones, bombs, artillery shelling, and ballistic strikes,” he added.
Mr Zelensky also said international pressure on Moscow and fresh sanctions are needed to get Russia to negotiate an end to the invasion which started in February 2022.
President Trump said he would consider further sanctions and use tariffs to undermine oil exports.
Russia launched a drone attack on Kharkiv overnight which injured three people and fired two ballistic missiles along with 131 drones, Ukrainian Interior Ministry said Monday.
For its part, Russia’s Defence Ministry said air defences shot down 66 Ukrainian drones three Russian regions early Monday.
“The continuing attacks by the Ukrainian armed forces on Russia’s energy facilities show the complete lack of respect for any obligations related to the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine by the Kyiv regime,” Russia’s Defence Ministry said.
