Ukraine updates: Kyiv and Moscow maintain demands for talks

Significant hurdles remain before peace talks can be held to end Moscow's full-scale invasion of its neighbor, according to recent statements by Russian and Ukrainian leaders. 

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said it was ready to enter into a negotiating process with Russia at some point if Moscow was willing to negotiate in good faith. However, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said there was currently no such readiness on the Russian side.

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Kyiv has made various statements that are not entirely understandable. He reiterated that the main obstacle to negotiations, from the Russian point of view, remains that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ruled out such talks by decree. 

Officially, the conditions expressed by both sides are far apart. Zelenskyy demands a complete withdrawal of Russian troops from the country before negotiations with Moscow can take place. 

But Russian President Vladimir Putin is calling on Ukraine to relinquish the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk regions that Russia illegally annexed, even though Kyiv still controls large parts of them.  

YouTube speeds on desktop computers in Russia could drop by about 40% this week and up to 70% the following week, according to a senior Russian lawmaker close to the authorities.

"The 'degradation' of YouTube is a necessary step, directed not against Russian users but against the administration of a foreign resource that still believes it can violate and ignore our legislation without punishment," Alexander Khinshtein, head of the State Duma lower house of parliament's Committee on Information Policy, said on Telegram.

The move is aimed at persuading the video-hosting site to reinstate blocked Russian channels. Alphabet's YouTube has faced heavy criticism in Russia for taking down channels that broadcast Russian state media. 

Russia has also repeatedly fined Google for not removing content Russia considers illegal or undesirable.

"If the administration of the resource will not change its policy and will not start observing our laws, it can expect nothing good here," Khinshtein wrote. 

Ukrainian law enforcement officials have detained an 18-year-old man suspected of killing former nationalist lawmaker and linguist Iryna Farion last week, officials said.

Farion, known for her controversial campaigns to protect the Ukrainian language, was shot dead on the streets of the western city of Lviv last Friday.

"An 18-year-old boy was detained and the necessary investigative actions and examinations are continuing," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media.

The suspect was detained in his hometown of Dnipro in southeastern Ukraine, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Telegram. In preparation for the crime, the suspect rented at least three apartments in Lviv, the minister said.

"Now the investigation is inclined to believe that the shooter is only a perpetrator," Klymenko said, suggesting that the incident may have been planned in concert with others.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has called on the Chinese government to do more for peace in Ukraine.

"As a member of the Security Council, [China] has not only the right to veto, but, above all, the duty to do everything in its power to bring about peace," Baerbock said during a visit to the arms manufacturer Flensburger Fahrzeugbau (FFG) in northern Germany.

Addressing Beijing, Baerbock said, "That would mean, first and foremost: no support for the aggressor, no support for Russia."

She called it "important and central" that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is visiting China to talk to the Chinese side about how to achieve peace.

"It would be a blessing if we could finally make progress on this path to peace, and if China would assume its responsibilities in the Security Council accordingly," Baerbock said. 

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba visited Hong Kong and urged its leader, John Lee, to prevent Russia from using Hong Kong as a way to evade Western sanctions imposed on Moscow for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Both Hong Kong and China are seen by the US government as key routes for Russia to obtain materials for its military, including semiconductors and drone parts.

Kuleba "called on the Hong Kong Administration to take measures to prevent Russia and Russian companies from using Hong Kong to circumvent the restrictive measures imposed for Russia's aggression against Ukraine," his ministry said in a statement.

"These restrictive measures are necessary to weaken Russia's capacity to wage war and kill people in Ukraine," he said, according to the statement.

Kuleba is on the final day of his first visit to China, a close political and economic Russian ally since the beginning of the war.

On Wednesday, during talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Guangzhou, Kuleba said that Kyiv was prepared to negotiate with Russia when it shows itself willing to hold talks "in good faith."

Russia and China held joint air force drills near Alaska late on Wednesday, both countries confirmed. They said that the exercises were not targeted at "third countries."

Moscow said its "Tu-95MS strategic missile carriers and the Chinese air force's Xian H-6 strategic bombers carried out an aerial patrol over the Chukchi and Bering Seas and the north Pacific Ocean." The two strategic bombers are nuclear-capable.

The US military's North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said US and Canadian fighter jets had intercepted the aircraft in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). 

"The Russian and PRC aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign
airspace," NORAD said. "This Russian and PRC activity in the Alaska ADIZ is not seen as a threat, and NORAD will continue to monitor competitor activity near North America and meet presence with presence."

Although Beijing has been hesitant to openly support Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have met several times since the war began and showed signs of strengthening military ties.

The military exercises came on the heels of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba's first trip to China since the 2022 invasion.

Russian drones attacked the southern port city of Izmail for a second straight night. Kyiv confirmed the attacks, saying that infrastructure had been damaged. Central Ukraine and the Odesa region were also targeted.

Moscow has targeted ports in the Odesa area persistently since it ended a deal last year brokered by the United Nations and Turkey that allowed Ukraine to export grain via the Black Sea.

Ukraine's air force chief said they downed about 25 of 38 drones, with some wreckage found over the border with NATO-member Romania. Romania's Defense Ministry said fragments of a Russian Geran 1/2 drone were found near the village of Plauru across the Danube, near the river port of Izmail.

Odesa governor Oleh Kiper said two people were wounded when drone debris hit a private house in Izmail district.

Increasing drone attacks have taken a heavy toll on Ukraine's ability to defend itself.

es/rmt (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)