Russia may 'consider' ceasefire if Ukraine stops mobilization, arms deliveries, ambassador says
"In principle, we are ready to consider the possibility of establishing a ceasefire, which would subsequently allow for a sustainable resolution of the root causes of the conflict," Nebenzya said at a U.N. Security Council meeting.
Russia, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, convened the meeting to accuse European nations of undermining peace efforts. The Russian ambassador said that any ceasefire would require Western governments to end their support for Ukraine's armed forces.
"During the ceasefire, it is essential that Western countries stop supplying weapons to the Kyiv regime (the Ukrainian government) and that Ukraine halt its mobilization," Nebenzya said.
The statement comes just days ahead of the next round of peace talks in Istanbul on June 2. Despite the stated offer, Nebenzya also pledged that Moscow would "continue and intensify military operations for as long as necessary."
Ukraine swiftly rejected the demand as disingenuous.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the remarks a "slap in the face to all who advocate for peace," including countries like China and Brazil, which have pressed both sides to end the war.
"When the entire world insists that it is time to stop the killing immediately and engage in meaningful diplomacy, Russia uses the highest fora to spew such belligerent rhetoric," Sybiha wrote on X.
"We insist that the pressure on Moscow be increased already now. They do not understand normal attitude or diplomatic language; it is time to speak to them in the language of sanctions and increased support for Ukraine."
Despite growing global calls for a truce, Russia has so far rejected Ukraine's U.S.-backed proposal for a full and unconditional ceasefire. The Kremlin has instead escalated its aerial assaults across Ukrainian territory and is reportedly preparing a new summer offensive.
Moscow is expected to present a draft "ceasefire memorandum" at the June 2 talks in Istanbul. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on May 29 that the proposal would be delivered by Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky, who led Russia's delegation at the previous round of talks.
President Volodymyr Zelensky's Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak said on May 29 that Kyiv is open to the talks but insists that Russia share the memorandum ahead of the meeting.
According to Reuters, Moscow's demands for ending the war include Ukraine's withdrawal from four partially occupied regions, a pledge to abandon NATO ambitions, and the lifting of key Western sanctions — conditions Kyiv and its allies have categorically rejected.
Read also: Ukraine attacks elite Russian unit base nearly 7,000km away in Vladivostok, source claims
We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
18 minutes ago
- New York Post
American father-of-three who joined Russian army to escape ‘woke' US has been sent to the frontlines, wife says
A Texas father-of-three who moved his family to Russia and joined the military to escape 'wokeness' in the US has been sent to the frontlines of Moscow's meat grinder, his wife said. Derek Huffman, 46, claimed he was being tossed under the bus after being deployed to the frontlines in Ukraine despite assurances from the Russian military that he would be serving in a non-combat role, his wife DeAnna said in a now deleted YouTube page, according to the Telegraph. 'He feels like he's being thrown to the wolves right now, and he's kind of having to lean on faith, and that's what we're all doing,' she said of her husband's situation. 4 Texan Derek Huffman moved to Russia together with his family to escape 'wokeness' in the US. X / HuffmanTime 4 Huffman went on to join the Russian military, where he was allegedly promised a non-combat role, only for him to be deployed to the frontlines, his wife claims. YouTube / HuffmanTime The Huffmans had moved to Russia in March, with the father-of-three celebrating what he called an escape from the LGBTQ 'indoctrination' in America. He was one of two families who reportedly answered American blogger Tim Kirby's invitation to move to a village outside Moscow to be free of the 'liberal gender norm.' To secure an expedited citizenship process for his family and to earn the respect of his new countrymen, Huffman told Russian state media that he would gladly join the military. 'The point of this act for me is to earn a place here in Russia,' he told state media last month. 4 Huffman claimed he was happy to enlist in the army to expedite his citizenship process and earn the respect of his new countrymen. 'If I risk myself for our new country, no one will say that I am not a part of it. Unlike migrants in America who come there just like that, do not assimilate, and at the same time want free handouts,' he added. DeAnna, however, claims he was misled during the military recruitment process, where Russian officers allegedly promised him a role as a welder or war correspondent. Instead, Huffman, who has no prior military experience, underwent training in a language he did not understand and was shipped off to fight in the frontlines, where hundreds of Russian troops are killed every week. 4 His wife, DeAnna, said her husband has no prior military experience and received little training by the time he learned he would be deployed to fight Ukraine. YouTube / HuffmanTime 'Unfortunately, when you're taught in a different language, and you don't understand the language, how are you really getting taught?' DeAnna pointed out. 'You're not.' 'It seems as though he is getting one more week of training, closer to the front lines, and then they are going to put him on the front lines,' she added. The confused wife also claimed that even after a month of service, the family has yet to receive any of the wages promised to Huffman. Huffman was last seen on his family's social media accounts during a Father's Day message to his wife and kids in June, which showed him wearing camouflage and speaking to them directly. 'I miss you all more than you can imagine,' he said. 'I can't wait to see you, hopefully I get a vacation at some point and I get to go home and spend a couple of weeks with you. 'But man, you're on my mind 24/7 and just know that what I'm doing is important to me and important to our family. Just know I will do whatever it takes to be safe and to come home to you. Take care of each other,' he added.
19 minutes ago
Airdrops in South Sudan deliver food amid conflict as US shifts approach to foreign aid
The United Nations' World Food Programme last week conducted humanitarian air drops in South Sudan as the country, less than two decades old, faces surging conflict while global assistance programs are roiled in a financial crisis and more than 2 million of the nation's children are at risk of malnutrition. The civil war in neighboring Sudan has displaced 1 million refugees who have flowed into the Upper Nile of South Sudan, where the WFP said it targeted its airdrops because it was the only way to reach the area. The emergency food deliveries serve some of the world's most desperate populations as the U.S. -- long the world's top humanitarian donor -- initiates a new foreign assistance strategy under the auspices of the State Department and officials express an openness to unconventional measures to get aid to those who need it. The organization said in a press release it was the first time in over four months it was able to deliver food to the people of the remote region. WFP told ABC News it would continue to deliver aid from the air. "Airdrops are ongoing to reach the planned target of 40,000 people," said Tomson Phiri, a spokesperson for WFP in the country. The WFP airdrops, totaling more than 400 metric tons, follow those in the Upper Nile by Fogbow, a private American company working with humanitarian distributors on the ground. Now defunct, the U.S. Agency for International Development officially closed its doors on July 1 when the State Department took over its remaining programs. USAID's staff was downsized by 83%, and a 'small number' were rehired to continue their work under the new apparatus, a State Department spokesperson said. A senior State Department official said a new deft bureaucracy accountable to Washington policymakers could have more of an appetite for unconventional measures like airdrops. 'This transition has not stopped us from investing in sort of new and innovative solutions,' the official said. 'And once we get through this transition and the programs are over here [at State], I think the next few months are really going to help indicate where we think our future vision is.' The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports that $1.4 billion of funding for its programs is on hold or shuttered -- leaving nearly 12 million refugees, or a third of the world's displaced people, without access to its support. In addition to the Trump administration's reorganization of its foreign aid policy, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Germany have announced a scaling down of their own foreign assistance budgets. That includes South Sudan. A UNHCR report on the toll of aid cuts on refugees says 75% of UNHCR-funded safe spaces, which has supported up to 80,000 women and girls who fled there, have closed. Violence in the borderlands between the countries -- which split when South Sudan gained independence in 2011 -- leaves the world's youngest nation in a precarious place only seven years after a cease-fire in its own civil war. The humanitarian community has long wrestled over airdrops, which are costly and difficult to execute. They are considered a last resort for conflict zones unreachable by land or sea. A U.N. spokesperson in Sudan said in a statement to ABC News that airdrops were 'costly, complex and context dependent.' 'While they can provide temporary relief in locations that are otherwise inaccessible, they are usually inadequate and cannot substitute for sustained, secure humanitarian access by road or land,' said Dan Teng'o, a spokesperson for the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Fogbow dropped 600 metric tons of food aid in the Upper Nile in June operations, partnering with a non-governmental organization that distributed it on the ground. In 2024, it managed to conduct airdrops amid the civil war -- with USAID funding -- in Sudan. A State Department spokesperson told ABC News it was aware of reports of airdrops in South Sudan but that the U.S. '[has] not been involved in these operations.' It said it is 'not working with Fogbow on humanitarian operations.' In a concept of operations in June that was eventually scuttled, Fogbow proposed to conduct airdrops in Sudan with the Jordanian Royal Air Force. The plan would have targeted the drops for civilians in the besieged city of El Fasher, a flashpoint in the violence in Sudan. Mick Mulroy, Fogbow president and an ABC News contributor, said he 'wouldn't disagree' with the U.N.'s characterization -- a barge or a truck could scale significantly more aid delivery, he said. 'But we're agnostic. You shouldn't use the most expensive [option] unless it's the only option. And in the places where we use it, it's the only option.' Chris Hyslop, Fogbow's director of humanitarian operations and 15-year veteran of the U.N., including three years in Sudan, said aid workers in conflict zones are ready to administer aid -- if they could get their hands on food and lifesaving goods. He noted that '85% of all humanitarians who are working are actually from the country they're working in.' In Sudan and South Sudan, which broke away and gained independence in 2011, humanitarians are ready to turn funding to aid, Hyslop said. 'It's extremely challenging. They're there. They want to do more,' he said. 'They're able to do more, but they cannot, because the access, due to fighting, is so constrained.' In South Sudan, the WFP said it can 'deliver crucial assistance' if the country's main river routes were reopened. They've been blocked since mid-April by active fighting, the organization said, adding it has 1,500 metric tons of food ready for transport once the routes are reopened.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Trump accuses Obama of treason. Obama calls it a 'weak attempt at distraction'
President Donald Trump is ramping up accusations that former President Barack Obama was involved in a 2016 conspiracy to undermine Trump's victory, which the former president's office called a 'weak attempt at distraction.' When asked about the Epstein case in the Oval Office on July 22, Trump pivoted quickly to an attack on Obama. "The witch hunt that you should be talking about is they caught President Obama absolutely cold," Trump said, going on to accuse him of treason without providing evidence, Reuters reported. Trump also said in a July 21 Truth Social post that Obama manufactured the "Russia HOAX." Obama has not been arrested or charged. Trump's comments follow Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard's claim she has evidence of a "treasonous conspiracy" related to the intelligence about Russian interference in the 2016 election. The focus on Obama comes as the Trump administration continues to receive backlash from some Republicans over the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's criminal files. Putting attention on the 2016 election and investigations into Russia's interference could be part of a broader effort to distract from the Epstein fallout, according to The Washington Post and Axios. "Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response," Patrick Rodenbush, a spokesperson for Obama, said in an emailed statement. "But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one. These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction." More: Jeffrey Epstein is sowing division among MAGA. What to know about the late sex offender Trump posted fake AI video of Obama, but he wasn't actually arrested Trump has long criticized Obama. Before becoming a presidential candidate, Trump repeatedly spread false rumors that Obama wasn't born in the U.S., and wasn't eligible to be the president. But since returning to office this year, Reuters reported Trump had not gone so far as to accuse Obama of a crime. The accusations come after a deepfake video depicting Obama's arrest (which did not happen). The July 20 post on Truth Social was a TikTok video by an account named "neo8171," with a montage of Democratic elected officials saying "no one is above the law." While it is unclear where the clips were from, Democrats have used that phrase when talking about Trump's criminal cases, including an arrest in Georgia and a felony conviction in New York. The video then shows Pepe the Frog, a popular internet meme that was added to a hate symbol database during the 2016 election. As "YMCA" starts to play, the video shows Trump and Obama sitting in the Oval Office, and an artificially rendered scene shows FBI agents dragging Obama out of his chair and cuffing his hands behind his back. The fake video then shows Obama in an orange jumpsuit in jail. A representative for Obama previously declined to comment on the fake AI video. Gabbard, Trump revisit 2016 Russian interference amid Epstein backlash On July 18, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard issued a press release saying she had evidence that the Obama administration after the 2016 election produced "politicized intelligence that was used as the basis for countless smears seeking to delegitimize President Trump's victory." In 2020, a Republican-led, bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee backed the conclusion of the intelligence agencies that found Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election in favor of Trump. Trump had long said the investigation into his campaign was a hoax. Ranking Member on the Intelligence Committee Rep. Jim Himes, D-Connecticut, said Gabbard's new claim is a "dangerous lie," while speaking on CBS News' "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," on July 20. He said Gabbard is using a "sleight of hand" by focusing on intelligence about Russia's failed voting infrastructure manipulation rather than Russia's meddling to discredit Trump's 2016 Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. "Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes," Rodenbush said in the July 22 statement. Appearing on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures," Gabbard said she intended to send her findings to the Department of Justice and the FBI for criminal referral. 'As is always the case, President Trump was right about the Obama-Biden administration's clear involvement in the greatest witch hunt in American history and the genesis of the decade-long hoax saga that tore our nation apart and undermined the will of the people," White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in an emailed statement previously shared with USA TODAY. "The President and his entire administration are committed to unearthing wrongdoing and holding any individual accountable for this gross abuse of power and blatant conspiracy against President Trump and his supporters.' Contributing: Kevin Johnson, Kristine Phillips, USA TODAY; Reuters Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@ Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @
