Putin 'dragging his feet' on ending fighting in Ukraine

Kyiv’s allies say peace appears out of reach’ in near future

- ARCHIE MITCHELL

Peace in Ukraine “appears out of reach in the immediate future”, Germany’s defence minister has warned as Vladimir Putin was accused of “dragging his feet” on a ceasefire.

After a meeting of the 50-strong Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG), Boris Pistorius lashed out at Russia’s ongoing attacks on civilian and military targets inside Ukraine, urging President Putin to back down. “Russia needs to understand that Ukraine is able to go on fighting and we will support it,” he said.

But in a rallying call for Ukraine’s allies to step up their financial and military support for Kyiv, Mr Pistorius said: “Given Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine, we must concede that peace in Ukraine appears to be out of reach in the immediate future.”

His intervention came as UK defence secretary John Healey warned that the Russian dictator is continuing to “drag his feet” in US-brokered talks about a peace deal in Ukraine.