Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated his proposal for peace talks on the Ukraine war once again on Christmas day even as his army rained down a barrage of missiles, killing many Ukrainians.
What Happened: In an interview aired over the weekend, Putin said Moscow was ready to negotiate with all parties involved in the war, reported Reuters.
“We are ready to negotiate with everyone involved about acceptable solutions, but that is up to them — we are not the ones refusing to negotiate, they are,” Putin told Rossiya 1 state television.
However, Putin played down his decision to invade Ukraine and said, “I believe that we are acting in the right direction, we are defending our national interests, the interests of our citizens, our people. And we have no other choice but to protect our citizens.”
On the same day, the Kremlin launched over 10 rocket attacks in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, shelled more than 25 towns along the Kupiansk-Lyman frontline and hit nearly 20 towns in Zaporizhzhia, according to the war-torn nation's top military command.
The Defence Ministry of Russia said it killed about 60 Ukrainian servicemen on Saturday along the Kupiansk-Lyman line of contact and destroyed numerous pieces of military equipment.
Ukraine said there was no sign of Putin wanting a peace agreement in this 10-month-long conflict. An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Putin doesn't want talks but is avoiding responsibility.
“Russia single-handedly attacked Ukraine and is killing citizens,” the adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, tweeted.
“Russia doesn’t want negotiations, but tries to avoid responsibility,” he added.
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