Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to stop invading his country and come to the negotiating table to discuss a ceasefire.
The request included some defiantly sarcastic comments and pointed barbs towards Putin, whose invasion of Ukraine launched a week ago has left many dead and forced more than a million people to flee the country.
Today, March 3, a second round of talks over a ceasefire are being held in Belarus, Russia's ally in the conflict that has reportedly allowed Russian troops to cross their border with Ukraine as part of the invasion.
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However, hopes for a diplomatic outcome to the conflict are low as Zelenskyy has insisted Ukraine will not surrender and, according to The Guardian, Putin is set on taking 'full control' of the country through whatever means necessary.
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Sky News reports that Zelenskyy has issued a direct message to Putin, calling him to come to the negotiating table and stop the death toll from rising.
The Ukrainian president called Putin to 'sit down with me to negotiate, just not at 30 metres' – a sarcastic barb aimed at the Russian president's recent habit of having an incredibly long table between himself and whoever he is meeting.
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According to The Independent, the ridiculously large table is there in part because 69-year-old Putin is afraid of catching coronavirus.
Zelenskyy continued his attempts to bring Putin to negotiations, saying: 'I don't bite. What are you afraid of? Any words are more important than shots.
Ukrainian officials say they have already foiled one assassination plot against Zelenskyy, with iNews reporting that the attempt by a group of Chechen special forces was scuppered thanks to a tip-off from Russian's security service as they 'didn’t want to take part in this bloody war'.
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Eight days in, Putin has continued to insist that his invasion of Ukraine is 'going to plan' and that Ukrainians had been 'threatened and brainwashed'.
The Russian president claims his aims in the war are the 'neutralisation, demilitarisation and denazification' of Ukraine.
If you would like to donate to the Red Cross Emergency Appeal, which will help provide food, medicines and basic medical supplies, shelter and water to those in Ukraine, click here for more information
Topics: Russia, Ukraine, Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky, World News
Joe Harker