Latest news with #KremlinSenate
The Star
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Kremlin says it has been ready to hand over bodies of Ukrainian war dead for 'several days'
FILE PHOTO: The Russian flag flies on the dome of the Kremlin Senate building behind Spasskaya Tower in Moscow, Russia June 2, 2025. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/File photo MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia has been ready to start handing over the corpses of Ukraine's war dead for several days with refrigerated trucks containing the first bodies parked near the border, but Kyiv is still discussing the details, the Kremlin said on Tuesday. The two sides agreed to repatriate the bodies of soldiers killed in the conflict during talks in Istanbul on June 2, which also resulted in an agreement to exchange prisoners of war, a process which got under way on Monday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has accused Moscow of "trying to play some kind of dirty political and information game" around the issue of the exchanges. Russia has said it is ready to hand over the bodies of over 6,000 Ukrainian soldiers and receive any bodies of Russian soldiers which Kyiv is able to return. But Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky said on Saturday that the Russian side had shown up at the agreed exchange point with the bodies of 1,212 Ukrainian dead soldiers only to find nobody from Ukraine to take them. Ukrainian officials responsible for the exchanges did not respond to a request for comment on Saturday. Asked about the issue on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia remained ready to return the bodies and was in talks with Kyiv on the subject, but did not yet know exactly how many bodies of Russian soldiers Ukraine was ready to hand over. "There is no final understanding. Contact is being made, numbers are being compared. As soon as there is a final understanding, then we hope this exchange will take place," said Peskov. "There is one indisputable fact here, which is that we have already been ready on the border for several days with those trailers that were mentioned to make the transfer to the Ukrainian side. This is a fact that everyone sees and knows." Russian state media has broadcast images of long white refrigerated trucks containing the bodies which are sealed in individual white bags and are parked up near the border. (Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Writing by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
Straits Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Kremlin says it is still talking to Ukraine about exchanging bodies of dead soldiers
FILE PHOTO: The Russian flag flies on the dome of the Kremlin Senate building behind Spasskaya Tower in Moscow, Russia June 2, 2025. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/File photo Kremlin says it is still talking to Ukraine about exchanging bodies of dead soldiers MOSCOW - Russia is still ready to return the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers killed in the war and is in talks with Kyiv on the subject, the Kremlin said on Tuesday. It said some of the bodies were still waiting inside refrigerated trucks for a handover. Russia has previously said that the trucks, initially carrying over 1,000 bodies, have been parked near an exchange point since at least Saturday for Ukraine to collect and has complained that Kyiv has not yet done so. Such an exchange was agreed during a second round of direct peace talks in Istanbul on June 2. The Kremlin said it did not yet know exactly how many bodies of Russian soldiers Ukraine was ready to hand over. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Kremlin calls Ukrainian response to Putin's ceasefire offer ambiguous, calls for clarity
FILE PHOTO: The Russian flag flies on the dome of the Kremlin Senate building behind Spasskaya Tower, in central Moscow, Russia, May 4, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo MOSCOW - The Kremlin said on Saturday it wanted a definitive response from Ukraine to Russian President Vladimir Putin's offer of a three-day ceasefire next week, criticising the reaction so far as ambiguous and historically wrong. Putin on Monday declared a three-day ceasefire to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies over Nazi Germany in World War Two. The Kremlin said the 72-hour ceasefire would run on May 8, May 9 - when Putin will host international leaders on Moscow's Red Square, including Chinese President Xi Jinping - and May 10. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appeared to rule out such a brief ceasefire earlier on Saturday, saying he was only ready to sign up to a ceasefire that would last at least 30 days, an idea Putin has said needs a lot of work before it could become a reality. Zelenskiy also said that Ukraine, given the continued war with Russia, could not guarantee the safety of any foreign dignitaries who came to Moscow for the May 9 parade. Russia's Foreign Ministry said his comments amounted to a threat, while Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said nobody could guarantee that the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv would survive to see May 10 if Ukraine attacked Moscow during the May 9 celebrations. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov convened a special conference call after Zelenskiy's comments. He told reporters that Putin's three-day offer had been a test to assess Kyiv's readiness to search for a peaceful settlement to end the war. "The reaction of the Ukrainian authorities to Russia's initiative to introduce a ceasefire is a test of Ukraine's readiness for peace. And we will, of course, await not ambiguous but definitive statements and, most importantly, actions aimed at de-escalating the conflict over the public holidays," Peskov said. He accused the Ukrainian authorities of espousing "neo-Nazism," an allegation Kyiv has repeatedly rejected as false, and of not considering the victory over Nazi Germany to be important enough to mark properly. Peskov also commented on media reports that Ukrainian soldiers will take part in World War Two commemorations in Britain, calling the move "sacrilege". REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
03-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Kremlin says it wants a definitive Ukrainian response to Putin's offer of a three-day ceasefire
FILE PHOTO: The Russian flag flies on the dome of the Kremlin Senate building behind Spasskaya Tower, in central Moscow, Russia, May 4, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Saturday it wanted what it called a "definitive" response from Ukraine to Russian President Vladimir Putin's offer of a three-day ceasefire to coincide with World War Two victory commemorations this month. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy already appears to have ruled out such a ceasefire, saying he is only ready to agree if the ceasefire will last at least 30 days, an idea Putin has said needs a lot of work before it can become a reality. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Putin's three-day offer was a test to assess Kyiv's readiness to search for a peaceful settlement to end the war. Putin on Monday declared the three-day ceasefire to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies in World War Two. The Kremlin said the 72-hour ceasefire would run on May 8, May 9 - when Putin will host international leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping for celebrations to commemorate victory over Nazi Germany - and May 10. Peskov also commented on media reports that Ukrainian soldiers will take part in World War Two commemorations in Britain, calling the move "sacrilege". (Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Andrew Osborn)
Straits Times
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Kremlin says it wants a definitive Ukrainian response to Putin's offer of a three-day ceasefire
FILE PHOTO: The Russian flag flies on the dome of the Kremlin Senate building behind Spasskaya Tower, in central Moscow, Russia, May 4, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo Kremlin says it wants a definitive Ukrainian response to Putin's offer of a three-day ceasefire MOSCOW - The Kremlin said on Saturday it wanted what it called a "definitive" response from Ukraine to Russian President Vladimir Putin's offer of a three-day ceasefire to coincide with World War Two victory commemorations this month. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy already appears to have ruled out such a ceasefire, saying he is only ready to agree if the ceasefire will last at least 30 days, an idea Putin has said needs a lot of work before it can become a reality. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Putin's three-day offer was a test to assess Kyiv's readiness to search for a peaceful settlement to end the war. Putin on Monday declared the three-day ceasefire to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies in World War Two. The Kremlin said the 72-hour ceasefire would run on May 8, May 9 - when Putin will host international leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping for celebrations to commemorate victory over Nazi Germany - and May 10. Peskov also commented on media reports that Ukrainian soldiers will take part in World War Two commemorations in Britain, calling the move "sacrilege". REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
