Russia says momentum from Putin-Trump meeting 'gone' / Photo: © GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Russia says momentum from Putin-Trump meeting 'gone'
Russia said Wednesday that momentum towards reaching a peace deal in Ukraine had largely vanished following Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump's presidential summit in Alaska, dimming hopes for a quick end to the three-and-a-half year war.
The two leaders met at an air base in the Alaskan city of Anchorage in August, but failed to reach any kind of peace agreement to end the fighting.
Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have since stalled, with both Moscow and Kyiv launching deadly strikes into each other's territory and Russia advancing on the battlefield.
Trump has grown increasingly frustrated at Putin's apparent reluctance to accept a deal, saying last month he was "very disappointed" with the Russian leader.
"Unfortunately, we must admit that the powerful momentum generated by Anchorage in favour of agreements... has largely gone," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said, according to Russian news agencies.
He blamed Europe for the impasse, accusing them of wanting to wage a "war to the last Ukrainian".
Trump reached out to Putin within weeks of returning to the White House, casting himself as a neutral mediator. But he has failed to extract any major concessions from the Kremlin.
Trump has since grown more hostile towards Moscow while expressing sympathy for Ukraine.
In September, he wrote on Truth Social that Kyiv should try to "take back" all its occupied territory with Europe's and NATO's help.
Last month, US Vice President JD Vance told broadcaster Fox News that Washington was considering sending long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine.
Putin warned that such a move would mean a "whole new level of escalation".
On Wednesday, Ryabkov said sending Tomahawks to Ukraine would have "severe" consequences and urged Washington to reconsider the decision.
US-Russian ties were "cracking" at their "foundation", said Ryabkov -- and "the Americans are to blame for this".
- Sports hall hit -
Both Moscow and Kyiv accused each other of attacking civilians early Wednesday, while Moscow said it had captured a village.
In Russia's Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, a missile strike killed three people in the village of Maslova Pristan, about 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the border, the local governor said.
The governor said the strike had partially destroyed a "social facility" and posted images of what appeared to be a sports hall, its facade partially shattered.
A Russian strike on the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson killed two elderly people, local officials said.
Russia fired at least 183 drones at Ukrainian territory between late Tuesday and early Wednesday, the Ukrainian air force said.
Among the targets were rail and energy infrastructure, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said.
Moscow's defence ministry said it had intercepted 53 Ukrainian drones overnight, most of them over the Belgorod region, a frequent target of attacks.
Russia launched its full-scale offensive on Ukraine in February 2022, describing it as a "special military operation" to demilitarise the country and prevent the expansion of NATO.
Kyiv and its European allies have cast the war as an illegal land grab that has resulted in tens of thousands of civilian and military casualties and widespread destruction.
Millions of Ukrainians have been forced to leave their homes since 2022, while Russia now occupies around a fifth of Ukrainian territory -- much of it ravaged by fighting.
(M.Dorokhin--DTZ)
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