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Kremlin told Russian news agencies on Saturday (December 3) that Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit east Ukraine’s Donbas region “in due time”. Putin claims to have annexed the Donbas region and his planned visit might anger Ukraine and the West.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “In due time, this will happen, of course. This is a region of the Russian Federation.” Peskov didn’t mention the exact date of the visit.
The remarks came after the Kremlin said that the Russian president told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a phone call on Friday that the West’s support to Ukraine was “destructive”. Kremlin said that Putin also asked Berlin to rethink its approach.
On the other hand, Scholz urged Putin to opt for a diplomatic solution to end the ongoing war, which caused global food and fuel crises. Scholz’s spokesperson said that the German chancellor also suggested Russia “withdraw” its troops.
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During the phone call, Putin also told Scholz the Russian strikes were an “inevitable response to Kyiv’s provocative attacks on Russia’s civilian infrastructure”. The missile strikes have destroyed around half of the Ukrainian energy system. which is worsening the situation for Ukrainians amid the winter cold.
With the mention of “attacks on Russia’s infrastructure”, Putin referred to the October attack on a bridge linking Moscow-annexed Crimea to the Russian mainland. Moscow blames Ukraine for the attack, but Kyiv denies it.
The Russian president has blamed the West for carrying out “destructive” policies in Ukraine. The Kremlin said that Western political and financial aid meant Kyiv “completely rejects the idea of any negotiations”.
(With inputs from agencies)
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