Ukraine: Ukraine has no plans to open any humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians from besieged cities Monday because of intelligence reports warning of possible Russian “provocations” along the routes, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said. Meanwhile, Russia is increasingly focused on grinding down Ukraine’s military in the east in the hope of forcing Kyiv into surrendering part of the country’s territory to possibly end the war.
US President Joe Biden clarified on Sunday that the United States does not have a policy of regime change in Russia, after his declaration that Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power.” In other news, Russia’s state-owned Gazprom has asked India’s largest gas transmitter GAIL (India) to pay for gas imports in euros instead of dollars, two sources said, in a sign that the Russian energy giant seeks to wean itself away from the US currency in the wake of the Ukraine conflict. Sources familiar with the matter said the state-run Indian firm is still examining the request.
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators will resume face-to-face peace talks as soon as Monday, probing whether near-stalemate infighting has forced Moscow to temper its demands. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, “We are looking for peace, really, without delay.” Zelenskyy even requested nations to provide Ukraine with fighter jets and tanks to defend against Russia.
Meanwhile, Russia said its main focus is on taking control of the eastern Donbas region, an apparent pullback from its earlier, more expansive goals, but one which is raising fears of a divided Ukraine. Over 17,000 Russian servicemen have been killed since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 143 children have been killed and 216 wounded, the General Prosecutor’s Office was quoted as saying on Monday.