Kremlin: Russia paused military op for talks, but Ukraine rejected negotiations

Russia and its allies from the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics launched a military operation in Ukraine on Thursday aimed at “demilitarising and denazifying” the country in the face of a security crisis of a scale unseen in Europe in decades.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a temporary halt to the Russian military operation in Ukraine on Friday afternoon in connection with the expectation of negotiations with Kiev, but the operation was resumed Saturday afternoon after the Ukrainian leadership refused to talk, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

“Yesterday afternoon, in connection with the expected negotiations with the Ukrainian leadership, the Russian president and supreme commander ordered the suspension of the advance of the main forces,” Peskov said, speaking to reporters on Saturday. “Since the Ukrainian side essentially refused to negotiate, the advance of the main Russian forces resumed this afternoon in accordance with the operational plan,” he added.

Source: Sputnik