INTERNATIONAL UKRAINE ANTI-FASCIST SOLIDARITY

  By our Eastern European Affairs correspondent Vladimir Putin has endorsed the Chinese peace road-map for Ukraine. But it can be implemented only when West and Kiev are “ready” for it, the Russian president said after talks with his Chinese counterpart in the Kremlin this week.      On Monday, Chinese president Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin held almost five hours of informal talks behind closed doors. President Xi’s visit is his first to Russia since the outbreak of the Ukraine war, and also his first foreign trip since securing an unprecedented third term as China’s head of state.      Putin praised Beijing's 12-point peace plan during a summit with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. The Chinese leader said Beijing continues to strictly adhere to the UN principles over the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, maintaining a balanced position calling on all parties to exercise restraint and a return to negotiations to seek a diplomatic solution to hos...

Zelensky's Remarks Shows Putin Was Right to Launch Ukraine Op Vladimir Zelensky's remarks about the need to carry out "preemptive strikes" on Russia show that President Vladimir Putin was right to launch a special military operation in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.      Peskov urged the entire world to take note of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky's call for a preventive strike on Russia. Zelensky made the comments during an online conference at Australia's Lowy Institute this week.      The Kremlin spokesperson emphasized that no one tried to "rein in" the Ukrainian president, there were only timid attempts to condemn the tone of his statements.      "There were some timid attempts, let’s say, to condemn Zelensky’s tone. We heard at the United Nations and so on. But to our regret, let’s say, it didn’t occur to anyone to rein in their vassal. This is very dangerous,” Peskov said.      Meanwhile,...

  Six months into the conflict, what exactly does Russia hope to achieve in Ukraine? by Dmitry Trenin  Putin’s latest comments reveal that Moscow’s thinking has shifted and compromise is no longer on the agenda.      Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin referred to Ukraine as an “anti-Russian enclave” which has to be removed. He also said that the Russian soldiers taking part in the military operation there were fighting for their “own country.” These statements carry important implications.      Over the last six-plus months, the mantra of the Russian officialdom has been that all aims of the offensive will be reached. On purpose, however, the specific objectives, such as how far Moscow’s forces plan move into Ukraine, have never been spelled out. This cannot but raise speculation about what the Kremlin is actually hoping to achieve.      The only person who can authoritatively answer that question, however, is the President...