Day 320: Russia Rejects Peace Deal Speculation as 'Hoax'

Facts

• On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskova described as a "hoax" recent reports in Ukraine that Russia was trying to force Kyiv to sign a Korea-style peace deal to end the 10-month-long conflict.
• Oleksiy Danilov from Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council reportedly suggested that the Kremlin's Dmitry Kozak is meeting with European politicians. The alleged intent is to sign a peace agreement similar to the previous Minsk accords.
• Meanwhile, Ukraine denied Russian claims that a missile attack in the eastern city of Kramatorsk had killed more than 600 Ukrainian forces on Sunday. Moscow had termed the operation a "retaliatory strike" in response to the deaths of 89 Russian troops killed in the recent Ukrainian shelling of Makiivka.
• Elsewhere, two women died and multiple people were injured in a reported Russian missile attack on a market in Shevchenkove, located in eastern Ukraine.
• In his nightly addresses on Sunday, Ukrainian Pres. Zelenskyy said that Bakhmut and Soledar are "holding on against all odds" even as "fierce battle" rages in "one of the bloodiest" places along the front line. On Monday, Serhiy Cherevaty, Ukraine's Eastern Group of Forces' spokesman, added that Russian troops shelled Soledar 106 times over the past 24 hours.
• In other news, the Kremlin also suggested that the supply of Western weapons to Kyiv — including French-made armored vehicles — would "deepen the suffering of Ukrainians," delay the end of the conflict, and could draw NATO into a direct military confrontation with Russia.

Sources: RT, Yahoo, BBC News, Guardian, Kyiv Independent, and Reuters.

Narratives

• Anti-Russia narrative, as provided by The Washington Post. It would be a mistake to say Putin’s days as an aggressor is over. For the Russian President, defeat is not an option. He will never cede the four eastern provinces he has declared part of Russia to Ukraine. Moreover, if the Kremlin succeeds in toppling Ukraine, Russia will likely eye the Baltic countries of Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia as well as Finland, Poland, and Romania. The US and its allies must arm Ukraine and help Zelenskyy push back harder — before it's too late.
• Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by Moscow Times. The West has used the situation in Ukraine to create tension with Russia for years. Pres. Putin will not allow the West to use Ukraine as a weapon to weaken and divide Russia. Instead, he will do the right thing to protect its national interests and the interests of its citizens. The world will soon realize Russia is the only real guarantor of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Predictions