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Topics: Russia, Ukraine, World News
Hannah Smith
A Kremlin spokesperson appears to have rejected speculation that Russia may be willing to agree to a truce with Ukraine, claiming the country's forces would continue with their plans 'in full'.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, March 14, the Kremlin claimed Russia's invasion was proceeding according to schedule, despite reports that the country's military has sustained extremely heavy losses and had failed to achieve the majority of its objectives in the two weeks since troops first entered Ukraine.
'All the plans of Russia in Ukraine will be fulfilled in full and in the time frames outlined,' the spokesperson claimed, per Sky News.
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They went on to acknowledge western intelligence reports that Russia's invasion was not going to plan, saying: 'Moscow has paid attention to the US and the EU remarks that Putin is apparently not happy with the course of the special military operation in Ukraine.'
The remarks come after it was reported by CNN that US officials believed that Russia had asked China to provide them with military support and economic assistance in the wake of its invasion and the subsequent sanctions.
The Kremlin denied the reports, saying it 'has not asked China for military assistance' and stating that the country 'has sufficient military resources for its military operation'.
A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in the US said in a statement he had 'never heard' of the apparent request.
'The high priority now is to prevent the tense situation from escalating or even getting out of control,' Liu Pengyu said, adding: 'China calls for exercising utmost restraint and preventing a massive humanitarian crisis.'
The Kremlin's comments come a day after both Ukrainian and Russian negotiators appeared to raise hopes that an agreement could be reached between the two countries.
Lead Ukrainian negotiator Mikhail Podolyak told Turkish news agency Anadolu: 'We will, in principle, come to a truce and a cease-fire, I think, in the near future,' while his Russian counterpart Leonid Slutsky said that he was optimistic following 'substantial progress' in the talks that there would be 'documents for signing' in the coming days.
Elsewhere, the Kremlin spokesperson accused western countries of provoking Russia into escalating its attacks, saying: 'The US and the EU are trying to tempt Russia into attacking major population centres in Ukraine – we consider that is a provocation.'
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