The Russian invasion

Russian invasionRussian reactions
Analysis: An attempt to undermine the peace meeting

For Vladimir Putin, everything is about timing - that's why the new "peace proposal" was delivered the day before the peace meeting in Switzerland, writes Sky News Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett.

Ukraine, NATO and the US have already rejected the demands, which include giving up the four Russian-occupied regions – Putin knows very well that Zelensky draws the line there, he continues.

"This was aimed at putting Moscow's perspective first and undermining the legitimacy of the peace meeting before it even started."

Putin's "maximalist and unrealistic" demands are a clear indicator of the unwavering position he would take in potential peace negotiations, writes Max Seddon, head of the Financial Times' Moscow bureau, in a thread on X.

He also notes that this is the first time Russia has laid claim to Zaporizhzhia, the capital of the region of the same name.

"The Kremlin has never given a straight answer as to whether Russia wants it or not, while constantly shelling it."

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Putin's peace proposal saw by Ukraine: "Offensive"

Russian President Vladimir Putin says he would order his forces to lay down their arms immediately if Kyiv agrees to his peace proposal, Reuters reports.

Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs writes that it is "absurd" that Putin is trying to present himself as a peacemaker when he has started the biggest war in Europe since World War II.

The Russian peace proposal means that Ukraine would hand over the regions of Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhya and agree never to join NATO.

"It is an offense against common sense," writes President Zelensky's advisor Mychajlo Podoljak on X.

Zelenskyy himself tells Italian SkyTG24 News that the proposal is rather an ultimatum and that he does not believe that Putin would end the invasion if Ukraine agrees.

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Russian invasionPutin's Russia
Putin threatens revenge after G7 statement: "Theft"

That the G7 countries agreed on a loan of 50 billion dollars to Ukraine to be taken from frozen Russian assets is something that stirs up feelings in the Kremlin. At a meeting with the Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday, President Vladimir Putin gave a speech in which he launched a new attack on the United States and the West.

He said, among other things, that the seizure of Russian assets is "theft" and that it "will be punished", reports Reuters.

Putin also repeated the accusations that the US and the West are behind the deteriorating security situation.

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Putin's Russia
Over half of Russians believe in another world war

57 percent of Russians believe that another world war is a possibility. This is shown by a new survey by the opinion institute Russian Field, reports the independent Moscow Times.

71 percent of respondents indicate the United States as Russia's main enemy in a potential global conflict. Next comes Great Britain (40 percent) and France (39 percent). Only twelve percent see Ukraine as an enemy.

China (58 percent), Belarus (48 percent), Iran (21 percent) and North Korea (20 percent) are mentioned as potential allies.

Two-thirds of respondents are sure that Russia alone or in a coalition would win such a war. However, a majority, 76 percent, opposes the use of nuclear weapons even if it would be required for victory.

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Four Russian military planes violated Finnish airspace

On Monday, the Finnish Ministry of Defense announced that a Russian military plane had violated Finnish airspace. Now the Finnish border guard announces that the investigation of the incident shows that it was a total of four Russian planes.
The authority suspects that it was about two bombers and two fighters. The territorial violation took place in the sea area outside the town of Loviisa and at most the plane was 2.5 kilometers into the Finnish side.