Putin returned to Moscow after appearances in Alaska and escalated bombing of Ukrainian civilian areas. The strikes on Kyiv killed three children and 15 others and hit the EU mission and the British Council office. International leaders condemned the attacks as sabotage of peace, terror, and barbarism. The Kremlin claimed continued interest in negotiations despite the strikes. European officials described the attacks as a deliberate escalation that mocks peace efforts and a grim reminder of the stakes, saying the Kremlin will stop at nothing. Mixed signals from Washington are said to have likely emboldened Putin, who faced praise rather than punishment.
Flush from his successes on the red carpet in Alaska, ostensibly for peace talks, he returned to Moscow and intensified the bombing of civilians in Ukraine with renewed vigour. The strikes on Kyiv, which killed three children and 15 other people and targeted the EU mission and office of the British Council, were a deadly display of contemptuous disdain for peace efforts as wave after wave of drones struck indiscriminately.
How the killing of children and targeting of civilian offices aligns with a serious commitment to end the war speaks volumes about the Russian president's true motives. The attack on Kyiv "shows a deliberate choice to escalate and mock the peace efforts", European Commission vice-president Kaja Kallas said. Commission president Ursula von der Leyen also underlined the gravity of the incident, saying it was "another grim reminder of what is at stake". "The Kremlin will stop at nothing - even targeting the European Union," she said.
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