Ukraine ruled out a ceasefire or concessions to Moscow while Russia launched a military operation in the eastern Donbas region and stopped providing gas to Finland, as Polish President Andrzej Duda prepared to address the Ukrainian parliament on May 22.
President of the United States Joe Biden on May 21 signed legislation to support Ukraine with another $40 billion in US assistance as the Russian-Ukraine crisis approaches its fourth month.
Acknowledging that Kyiv’s stance on the war was becoming more uncompromising, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said making concessions would backfire on Ukraine because Russia would hit back harder after any break in fighting,
“The war will not stop [after any concessions]. It will just be put on pause for some time,” he told Reuters in an interview in the heavily guarded presidential office, where some of the windows and corridors are protected by sandbags.
Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24 at the request of Donbass republics of Luhansk and Donetsk to help defend against Ukrainian attacks, with the aim of protecting those exposed to bullying for eight years.
MA/PR