DONBAS AND NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
The 2 important excellent points, Kellogg mentioned, have been on territory – primarily the way forward for the Donbas – and the way forward for Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear energy plant, Europe’s largest, which is beneath Russian management.
“If we get these two points settled, I feel the remainder of the issues will work out pretty properly,” Kellogg mentioned on Saturday (Dec 6) on the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, California. “We’re nearly there.”
“We’re actually, actually shut,” mentioned Kellogg.
After President Vladimir Putin held 4 hours of Kremlin talks final week with Trump’s particular envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, Putin’s high international coverage aide, Yuri Ushakov, mentioned “territorial issues” have been mentioned.
That’s Kremlin shorthand for Russian claims to the entire of Donbas, although Ukraine remains to be in charge of at the least 5,000 sq km of the world. Virtually all international locations recognise Donbas as a part of Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has mentioned that handing over the remainder of Donetsk can be unlawful with out a referendum and would give Russia a platform to launch assaults deeper into Ukraine sooner or later.
Ushakov was quoted by Russian media on Sunday as saying that the US must “make severe, I’d say, radical adjustments to their papers” on Ukraine. He didn’t make clear what adjustments Moscow wished Washington to make.
Zelenskyy mentioned on Saturday that he had had a protracted and “substantive” cellphone name with Witkoff and Kushner. The Kremlin has mentioned it expects Kushner to be doing the primary work on drafting a potential deal.
TWO MILLION MEN KILLED OR INJURED
Kellogg, a retired lieutenant basic who served in Vietnam, Panama and Iraq, mentioned the dimensions of the loss of life and accidents attributable to the Ukraine struggle was “horrific” and unprecedented when it comes to a regional struggle.
Kellogg mentioned that, collectively, Russia and Ukraine have suffered greater than 2 million casualties, together with useless and wounded, for the reason that struggle started. Neither Russia nor Ukraine disclose credible estimates of their losses.
Russia presently controls 19.2 per cent of Ukraine, together with Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, all of Luhansk, greater than 80 per cent of Donetsk, about 75 per cent of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, and slivers of the Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk areas.
A leaked set of 28 US draft peace proposals emerged final month, alarming Ukrainian and European officers who mentioned it bowed to Moscow’s important calls for on NATO, Russian management of a fifth of Ukraine and restrictions on Ukraine’s military.
