Putin has called on the Ukrainian military to stage a coup and seize power

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday called on the Ukrainian military to “seize power” in Kiev and oust President Volodymyr Zhelensky and his entourage, whom he described as “neo-Nazis and drug addicts.”

“Take power in your hands. I think it will be easier to negotiate between you and me.”Putin said in an interview with the Ukrainian military on Russian television.

The Russian president has said he will not fight military units, but will fight nationalist organizations that act like “terrorists” using civilians as “human shields” and placing weapons in civilian areas.

“Then they want to accuse Russia of inciting the victims in public.” He added.

Even Putin He described President Zhelensky and his ministers as a “gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis” who have settled in Kiev and are holding the entire Ukrainian population hostage.

Moscow has described Ukrainian authorities as “neo-Nazis” or “junta” since 2014, and war broke out between pro-Russian separatists and Kiev forces in eastern Ukraine.

Putin’s call came minutes after his spokesman announced it His government is preparing to send a delegation to Minsk, the capital of its ally Belarus, to hold talks with Ukraine. On Thursday it was the country that launched the invasion.

Dmitry Peskov told Russian companies that “Vladimir Putin is ready to send a high-level Russian delegation to Minsk to hold talks with the Ukrainian delegation.”

Minsk was already a city where negotiations and peace agreements were held between the two countries.

Belarus also served as a point of entry for Russian troops heading to Kiev from Thursday into Ukraine.

Until now, The Russian government has refused to take part in talks with Ukraine. Despite repeated calls from President Volodymyr Zhelensky before the start of the Russian invasion.

Zhelensky said he had tried in vain to talk to Putin just hours before the attack began.

This Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said Russia is ready to hold talks if Ukraine drops its weapons.

Boris Johnson and his Northern European allies have called for further sanctions against Russia

Meanwhile, the Alliance of 10 Allied Northern European Nations, which includes the Baltic states, agreed on Friday that tough sanctions against Russia were needed for the occupation of Ukraine, the British government said.

The leaders agreed that additional sanctions were needed, including a focus on the inner circle of Russian President Vladimir Putin.A spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said after the meeting between the two countries.

He added “More support urgently needed for Ukraine”Johnson insisted.

“President Putin’s despicable actions can never be normalized or his aggression against Ukraine accepted as a legitimate act,” he said.

The group of ten allies of Northern Europe was established in 2012 And unites NATO member states (Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom) and non-NATO countries (Finland and Sweden).

Its goal is the protection of the “far north” around the Arctic, North Atlantic and Baltic seas.

In a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zhelensky on Friday, Boris Johnson promised to increase his support for Ukraine.

London has refused to send British troops to counter Russian troops, but has already said it is ready to send defensive weapons to the country.

* With information from AFP.

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