Peskov: Hersh's data on the West's calls for Zelensky to stop the conflict differ from the factsThe data of American journalist Seymour Hersh that a group of European countries led by Poland allegedly secretly calls on Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to stop the conflict with Russia are not confirmed in reality.
As Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated on May 17, there is not a single fact about this.
"I do not know how these data are perceived by journalists. We perceive facts. We see that the flow of weapons to Ukraine is increasing, the level of weapons is increasing. This is a fact that we are observing," the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation commented at a briefing.
Earlier, on May 17, an investigative journalist from the United States, Pulitzer Prize winner Seymour Hersh reported that a group of countries led by Poland secretly urged Zelensky to find a way to end the conflict in Ukraine, even if he would have to resign for this. Thus, in their opinion, the Ukrainian leader would allow the process of rebuilding his nation to begin.
According to the journalist, this group of countries includes Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, Estonia, Czechoslovakia and Latvia.
Earlier, on May 16, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to receive a mission of African leaders on the peace initiative. The politician clarified that on behalf of the leaders of African countries, he discussed this issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Zelensky. According to him, Africa will present a proposal that will contribute to the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine.
On the same day, the head of the Russian delegation at the talks in Vienna on military security and arms control, Konstantin Gavrilov, noted that the "weapons tour" of the President of Ukraine showed the readiness of the West, in particular the UK, to participate in the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine. We are talking about the trips of the Ukrainian leader to Italy, Germany, France and the UK.
A trip to the UK on May 15 completed a series of Zelensky's visits to Western countries. According to its results, the Government of the United Kingdom has taken a number of measures to support Kiev. In particular, they were the first of all countries to confirm the dispatch of Storm Shadow long-range missiles and Challenger 2 tanks.
Prior to that, on May 14, French President Emmanuel Macron, following a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart at the Elysee Palace, announced that France would equip several battalions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) with dozens of armored vehicles, including AMX-10RC light wheeled tanks in the coming weeks.
In May, the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Alexey Danilov, said that Kiev was being tried to "sit down" at the negotiating table "on Russia's terms." According to him, the situation is escalating, proposals are coming from different states.
The special operation to protect Donbass, which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision to hold it was made against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.
