‘There is no evidence’ that peace deal with Vladimir Putin will end war in Ukraine, says Foreign Minister David Lammy

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said there is no evidence that Vladimir Putin needs a peace deal to end his war in Ukraine.

Donald Trump has said he could end the standoff on Jan. 21, a day after his return to the U. S. presidency.

But Mr Lammy warned that the calendar now looked like it was getting closer to Easter.

“Of course there will be negotiations, but I maintain this position. At the moment, Putin’s habit does not suggest that he is in a position to negotiate,” the minister told BBC radio.

“I see no evidence that Putin wants to come to the table to negotiate and bring this war to an end.”

“So we have to be clear that as we head through this winter, we must continue to support Ukraine with all of the military, economic and humanitarian assistance that it needs.”

Russian military leaders have introduced a series of offensives on multiple fronts in eastern Ukraine in what appears to be an attempt, through Putin, to capture as much territory imaginable before Trump returns to the White House.

Ukraine has introduced a new offensive in Russia’s Kursk region, after seizing much of it this summer in a miraculous attack.

Russian troops are trying to retake Kursk, supported by North Korean infantrymen believed to have suffered heavy losses after being thrown into combat.

A state of emergency was also declared in the Russian city of Engels on Wednesday after a Ukrainian drone attacked an oil depot that manufactures Russian nuclear bombers.

But Putin’s army is occupying more territory in eastern Ukraine.

Mr Lammy, though, insisted: “What we are seeing in Ukraine is that many said that they would lose Kursk, they haven’t, many said the would lose Pokrovsk, they haven’t, they have made advances in the Black Sea, Russia lost 45,000 troops, dead, in November alone.

“They are facing peak inflation. Putin had to announce cuts to his own welfare before Christmas.

“So, let’s be clear Ukraine continues to fight valiantly and that’s why the British government has been absolutely clear that we stand with them, £3 billion in military spending for as long as it takes.”

He added that Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky had been open about the possibility of a peace deal but stressed that it would require security guarantees for his country.

In Ukraine, a Russian-guided bomb attack killed at least 13 other people and wounded 13 others in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday, the government said.

The explosion left bodies strewn across a street along with injured residents. Public transportation was also disrupted by the strike.

Prosecutors increased the injury toll from 63 to 113 people on Thursday morning. Rescue work had been completed at the site of the attack the evening before.

The Ukrainian military said on Thursday that Russia launched a total of 70 drones at the country overnight.

Of those drones, the Ukrainian Air Force shot down 46, while 24 “copycat drones” failed to hit their targets, the Air Force added.

The attack destroyed apartments in three regions of Ukraine.

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