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Putin privately signals interest in ceasefire in Ukraine
[USA Today] Russian President Vladimir Putin has been privately signaling that he is open to a cease-fire in Ukraine, the New York Times reported Saturday, despite publicly saying he won't back down from the conflict that has been ongoing since early last year.More than 10,000 civilians have been killed and more than 18,500 injured since the war began, according to the United Nations, in addition to tens of thousands of troops. Putin has been indicating since at least September that he is open to stopping the fighting at the current boundary lines, the Times reported, citing two former senior Russian officials close to the Kremlin and other American and international officials. That's far from Putin's apparent goal of overtaking Ukraine. Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022 and quickly overtook large swaths of the country. But Ukrainian forces pushed back hard and successfully forced Russia to retreat from its northern regions. Since Oct. 2022, the battle lines have remained largely the same, with Russia holding parts of the southern and eastern regions of Ukraine. Posted by: Besoeker 2023-12-24 |
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