Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the country’s rule over all four Ukrainian regions it claims it unilaterally annexed must be recognized for peace talks to take place.
Putin spoke to reporters at a regional summit in Kyrgyzstan on Friday, saying fighting in Ukraine could be lengthy process.
According to him, the peace process “is likely to be complicated and take some time.” He added: “The parties to this process will have to accept the reality that is taking shape on the ground.”
Meanwhile, the White House’s National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, John Kirby, said a US intelligence analysis shows that Russia and Iran are considering setting up a drone assembly line in Russia.
Kirby also said Russia may provide Iran with helicopters and air defense systems in return. He said Russia was offering Iran an unprecedented level of military and technical support.
Britain’s Ministry of Defense said on Saturday that “Iranian support for Russian forces is likely to expand in the coming months” and that “Russia is attempting to acquire additional weapons, including hundreds of ballistic missiles.”
The ministry says: “If Russia succeeds in fielding a large number of Iranian ballistic missiles, it will likely use them to continue and expand its campaign of strikes against Ukraine’s critical national infrastructure.”