Kremlin official says Russian police and National Guard to stay in Ukraine’s Donbas even after peace

KYIV Ukraine AP A senior Kremlin official says that the Russian police and National Guard will remain in eastern Ukraine s Donbas to oversee the prized industrial region even if a peace settlement ends the nearly four-year war a possibility that is likely to be rejected by Ukrainian agents as U S -led negotiations drag on Moscow will give its blessing to a ceasefire only after Ukraine s forces have withdrawn from the front line Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov mentioned in comments published Friday in Russian business daily Kommersant Ushakov reported Kommersant it s entirely attainable that there won t be any troops in the Donbas either Russian or Ukrainian in a postwar scenario But he announced that there will be the National Guard our police everything necessary to maintain order and organize life For months American negotiators have tried to tackle the demands of each side as U S President Donald Trump presses for a swift end to Russia s war and grows increasingly exasperated by delays The search for attainable compromises has run into a major obstacle over who keeps Ukrainian territory that Russian forces have occupied so far Since Moscow s illegal annexation of Crimea and the seizure of territory in the east by Russia-backed separatists later that year as well as land taken after the full-blown invasion was launched on Feb Russia has captured about of its neighbor Ukraine says its constitution doesn t allow it to surrender land Russia which illegally annexed Donetsk and three other regions illegally in says the same Ushakov explained that no matter what the outcome of peace talks this territory the Donbas is Russian Federation territory On Thursday Trump compared the negotiations to a very complex real estate deal He announced that he wants to see more progress in talks before sending envoys to workable meetings with European leaders over the weekend In October Trump mentioned the Donbas region will have to be cut up to end the war Ukrainian counterattacks In fresh months Russia s army has made a determined push to gain control of all parts of Donetsk and neighboring Luhansk which together make up the valuable Donbas region Its slow slog across the Ukrainian countryside using its substantial advantage in troop numbers in a corrosive war of attrition has been costly in terms of casualties and losses of armor Although outnumbered Ukrainian defenders have held firm in numerous areas and counterattacked in others Ukrainian forces disclosed Friday that they had recaptured several settlements and neighborhoods near the city of Kupiansk in the northeastern Kharkiv region following a monthslong operation aimed at reversing Russian advances Kupiansk has in contemporary months been one of the largest part closely contested sectors of the around -kilometer -mile front line Ukrainian units gradually cut off Russian supply routes into Kupiansk starting on Sept and regained control of the villages of Kindrashivka and Radkivka as well as several northern districts of the city according to a declaration by the National Guard s Khartia Corps posted on Facebook Fighting is ongoing in central Kupiansk now where more than Russian soldiers are encircled the announcement stated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a video of himself standing on the road into Kupiansk on Friday Explosions could be heard in the background as he spoke At present it is critically pivotal to achieve results on the battlefield so that Ukraine can achieve results in diplomacy Zelenskyy revealed in the video praising his troops on Ukraine s Ground Forces Day Russian representatives made no immediate comment and the Ukrainians statements couldn t be independently verified At the end of October Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Ukrainian troops in Kupiansk were surrounded and offered to negotiate their surrender He revealed that a media visit to the area would prove it Ukraine also has developed its long-range strike capabilities using domestically produced weapons to disrupt Russia s war machine Its Special Operations Forces or SSO reported Friday that an operation in the Caspian Sea struck two Russian vessels carrying military equipment and arms The ships named Kompozitor Rakhmaninov and Askar-Saridzha are under U S sanctions for transporting arms between Russia and Iran the SSO announced in a announcement on social media It didn t say what weapons it used in its attack Cross-border drone strikes A Ukrainian drone attack wounded seven people including a child in the Russian city of Tver acting Gov Vitaly Korolev stated Friday Falling drone debris struck an apartment bulding in the city which lies northwest of Moscow Korolev mentioned Russia s air defenses destroyed Ukrainian drones overnight Russia s Defense Ministry declared Russian drones struck a residential area of Pavlohrad in Ukraine s central Dnipropetrovsk region killing one person and wounding four others the head of the local military administration Vladyslav Haivanenko wrote on Telegram Friday Ukraine s southern Odesa region came under a large-scale drone attack overnight according to regional chief Oleh Kiper The attack damaged strength infrastructure he commented More than people were without electricity on Friday morning Deputy Power Minister Roman Andarak announced Ukraine s air force explained that Russia launched drones across the country during the night Dasha Litvinova informed from Tallinn Estonia Follow AP s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https apnews com hub russia-ukraine Source