Russia’s delegation to US-brokered peace talks with Kyiv told negotiators that it controlled more of Ukraine’s territory than it actually does, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said, accusing Russian leader Vladimir Putin of living “in a different reality.”
The fresh round of negotiations aimed at finding a resolution to the war in Ukraine kicked off in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday after months of stalled progress amid continued Russian territorial demands and as Washington grew preoccupied with the conflict in Iran.
Zelenskyy said on Tuesday night that Moscow’s delegation to the talks claimed that Russia’s armed forces occupied roughly half of the territory in Donbas that remains under Ukrainian control.
“These were military officers, Russian intelligence, and they were serious about it. Our team told them, ‘We don’t know how you can even say such things. We have video footage, images, other things proving that these areas are under our control,’” the Ukrainian president said.
Donbas is a key industrial area made up of Ukraine’s Luhansk and Donetsk regions, which the Kremlin has long demanded control over. It remains a major focus of ground fighting in Ukraine, with Russia holding the majority of the region.
Zelenskyy said: “Putin lives in a different reality. Of course, he will be sharing with the Americans that he needs one or two months to fully occupy the east of Ukraine… But it’s not true.
“What was good is that the American side confirmed the Ukrainian...
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