Putin vows to persist with strikes in Ukraine, ignoring West
By E. EDUARDO CASTILLO
Associated Press
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The Kremlin says it’s up to Ukraine’s president to end the military conflict in the country, suggesting terms that Kyiv has repeatedly rejected. And Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to press on with the fighting despite Western criticism. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “knows when it may end. It may end tomorrow if he wishes so.” The Kremlin has long said that Ukraine needs to accept Russian conditions to end the fighting, that’s now in its tenth month. It has demanded that Ukraine recognize Crimea — which Moscow annexed in 2014 — as part of Russia and accept Moscow’s other land gains.