Ukraine rules out peace talks after Russia claims part of country

Russia’s parliament voted to make 4 regions of Ukraine officially part of Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, pictured September 30, said Tuesday that the country will not hold peace negotiations with Russia because the Russian parliament approved the country taking over four regions of Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has formally ruled out talks with Russia after it illegally declared four Ukrainian regions to be part of Russia.

Zelensky’s decree released Tuesday declares that holding negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin has become impossible after his decision to annex four regions of Ukraine. The decree also approves the decision of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council to strengthen Ukrainian defenses and seek more weapons from the country’s Western allies in response to Moscow’s move.

Russia’s upper house of parliament on Tuesday voted to support the treaties that make the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine part of Russia. Those regions are not entirely controlled by Russian military forces, however, with Ukrainian troops recently forcing the Russians to retreat from several key cities.

Russia, which invaded Ukraine on February 24, responded to Zelensky by saying that it will wait for Ukraine to sit down for talks on ending the conflict, noting that it may not happen until a new Ukrainian president takes office.

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