France Joins US in Seeking Access to Ukraine's Minerals

France is also seeking access to Ukraine's deposits of critical minerals, with negotiations already underway for months, the French defence minister said on Thursday, indicating that the US isn't the only player.

- Associated Press

MOSCOW: The Kremlin on Thursday ruled out any negotiation over the status of five Ukrainian regions it claims to have annexed despite not fully controlling four of them.

"The territories which have become subjects of the Russian Federation, which are inscribed in our country's constitution, are an inseparable part of our country," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"This is undeniable and non-negotiable," he said in a phone briefing attended by AFP. Russia in 2014 annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula following a brief military operation and a referendum that was criticised as illegitimate by Kyiv and Western powers.

After launching its full-scale offensive, Russia in September 2022 declared the annexation of four Ukrainian regions -- Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Russian forces control most of the Donetsk and Lugansk region but only parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.