Putin ramps up Ukraine invasion pronouncing peace talks dead

President Vladimir Putin snuffed out any hope of diplomacy to end the fighting in Ukraine and ordered Russia’s military advance to press ahead, as western nations rushed aid to help the government in Kyiv defend itself.

Speaking on a conference call Saturday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Kyiv had refused to conduct negotiations, after the two sides failed to reach agreement on a format or a location for any talks. “Because the Ukrainian side in effect refused negotiations, the main Russian forces resumed their advance according to the plan of the operation,” he said, declining to provide more details.