Russia: "Negotiation Proposal Delivered to Ukraine, Awaiting Response"... Bombing Across Ukraine

"Send the negotiation proposal by the 15th"... Airstrikes across Ukraine
Donbas troop reinforcements... Operation suspected to be a stalling tactic

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Russia, which launched a large-scale offensive in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, has delivered a draft negotiation proposal containing its demands to Ukraine and demanded a prompt response. However, airstrikes and bombings across Ukraine continue fiercely, leading to criticism that this is a stalling tactic.

According to TASS news agency on the 20th (local time), Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson, said at a briefing that day, "We have handed over a negotiation proposal with clear demands to Ukraine," adding, "The ball is now in Ukraine's court, and we are waiting for a response." However, he did not mention the specific contents of the negotiation proposal.

Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also stated at a press briefing that day, "We handed over the negotiation proposal to Ukraine on the 15th, but as of the 20th, there has been no response," adding, "This shows how Ukraine views the negotiations," and claimed, "They do not keep agreements and constantly change their positions."

The Russian government claims to have sent the draft negotiation proposal promised during the 5th peace talks with Ukraine on the 29th of last month, but Ukraine denies this fact. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky strongly refuted this in a statement that day, saying, "I have neither seen nor heard of any documents sent by Russia." Ukraine has repeatedly stated that negotiations have broken down since evidence of civilian massacres committed by Russian troops in Bucha emerged.

While Russia says it is waiting for a response to the negotiation proposal, its offensive across Ukraine continues. According to CNN, Russian forces focused shelling on Popasna, Rubizhne, Lysychansk, and Severodonetsk in the Donbas area, including Donetsk and Luhansk. The Russian Ministry of Defense also announced in a statement that "Overnight, 1,053 targets in Ukraine were struck, with up to 40 Ukrainian soldiers killed by precision missile attacks, and seven military equipment units destroyed."

It is also reported that troop reinforcements in the Donbas region continue. According to the Associated Press, a senior U.S. Department of Defense official said that in the past 24 hours, Russia deployed two additional battalion tactical groups (BTGs) to southeastern Ukraine, increasing combat units to 78. The total troop strength is estimated to be between 55,000 and 62,000. Accordingly, it is presumed that Russia is demanding a response to the negotiation proposal as a stalling tactic to buy time for deploying reinforcements.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.