Pandora's box, or Putin's appeasement strategy is not working

Exclusive. German Chancellor Scholz had a telephone conversation with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. A day after the negotiations, Russia carried out one of the largest air attacks on the critical civil infrastructure of Ukraine. The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation launched a massive combined strike, firing 120 missiles and 90 drones.

Dictator Putin

In a telephone conversation with dictator Putin, Olaf Scholz condemned the full-scale war unleashed by Russia in Ukraine and called on him to end this war and withdraw Russian troops from Ukrainian territory. The Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany emphasized the need for the Russian Federation to be ready for negotiations with Ukraine aimed at achieving a just and long-term peace, and also reaffirmed Germany's firm determination to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression as long as necessary.

This is the first contact between politicians since December 2022. The negotiation channel between Berlin and Moscow was interrupted after the start of Russia's full-scale aggression against Ukraine.

"About one of today's news. Chancellor Scholz told me that he was going to call Putin. Olaf's bell, in my opinion, is Pandora's box. Now there can be other conversations, other calls. Just a lot of words," said President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. He noted that this is exactly what the Russian dictator has wanted for a long time in order to weaken Russia's isolation in the international arena.

The Kremlin recently admitted that Putin is canceling foreign visits due to the refusal of other countries to fuel his plane. "Of course, the visits of the head of state are processed in the most thorough manner, all the necessary guarantees are obtained. In case of questions, of course, this can be a reason for making contacts at another level," said the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Peskov. Thus, he commented on the complaints of the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergei Lavrov, that he had problems refueling the aircraft of the special aviation unit "Russia" due to sanctions.

Russia is interested in the fact that, instead of forcing peace, foreign leaders start endless negotiations that will not bring results. "Just as he has been doing for decades. This gave Russia the opportunity not to change anything in its policy, not to do anything in essence, and this is exactly what led to this war. We understand all these calls now. We know how to act. And we want to warn: "Minsk-3" will not happen - we need real peace," Zelensky emphasized.

Kyiv rejected the settlement scenario in formats similar to the Minsk process, as they do not guarantee security for Ukraine. In Russia, they do not hide that any truce without real guarantees will be temporary. "Even if he signed the papers and accepted defeat, the remaining part of the radicals after the regrouping of forces will sooner or later return to power, inspired by the Western enemies of Russia. And then the time will come to finally crush the reptile. Drive a long steel nail into the lid of the coffin of the Bandera quasi-state. He will destroy the remnants of his bloody heritage and return the remaining lands to the bosom of the Russian land," for example, Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, discusses the negotiations.

In a conversation with Putin on Friday, Scholz resolutely condemned Russian airstrikes on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, and already on Sunday morning, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation launched a massive combined strike on the territory of Ukraine using drones of various types, including Shahedov, cruise and ballistic missiles, including "Zirkony", "Iskander" and "Daggers". A total of 120 missiles and 90 drones were launched — this is one of the largest air attacks since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"This is the real answer of the war criminal Putin to all those who have called and visited him recently," commented the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrey Sibyga on the terrorist attack in Russia.

In the evening of the same day, the Russian Iskander-M ballistic missile hit a nine-story residential building in Sumy. More than 400 people were evacuated from the rubble. Among the 11 dead are two children: a 9-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl. Another 68 people were injured, including 10 children injured as a result of the rocket attack.

Moscow clearly demonstrated that the strategy of pacifying the aggressor does not work, and that Putin can be stopped only by force, not by talks. Ukraine strives for the end of the war, not a temporary freeze of the conflict, which Russia is using to prepare for repeated aggression.

Vera Perovskaya