Russia tells Ukrainians war can end if they give up three key regions

Russia has told Ukraine it will halt its invasion “in a moment” if Kyiv agrees to give up three key regions, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson said Monday.

Moscow is demanding Ukraine cease military action, acknowledge Crimea as Russian territory and recognize the separatist republics of Donetsk and Lugansk as independent states.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ukraine was aware of the demands.

“They were told that all this can be stopped in a moment,” Peskov told Reuters in a phone interview.

“We really are finishing the demilitarization of Ukraine. We will finish it. But the main thing is that Ukraine ceases its military action. They should stop their military action and then no one will shoot.”

Peskov did not reveal whether Russian troops would withdraw completely from Ukraine if the conditions were met – only that fighting would stop.

The Ukrainian side did not immediately react to Russia’s ultimatums.

Putin has long known that if Ukraine allies with Europe, it would significantly diminish his power. His ultimate goal is to resurrect the Soviet empire. The architecture of that empire was built around Ukraine being a part of it. Ukraine is the breadbasket of Russia. To this day, Russia’s largest military base outside its own borders is in Ukraine.

Putin applied all that pressure on Ukraine because that nation is the linchpin of his goal of a renewed imperial Russia! A linchpin is the pin in an axle that keeps the wheel from coming off. Mr. Putin was doing everything in his power to keep the wheels from falling off his dream of a new Soviet empire. And that meant applying intense pressure on Ukraine.