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British, French and German ambassadors to Russia urged direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv in a rare meeting at Russia’s foreign ministry on Thursday. The leaders of the UK France and Germany – known as the E3 – this week met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president, in London. In a joint statement after Thursday’s Moscow meeting, the three countries said they conveyed to the Russians the key conclusions of the UK summit, including “the support for president Zelensky’s urge to hold direct talks between Russia and Ukraine”.
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European ambassadors have rarely held talks with Russian officials during the war, but have been frequently summoned by the foreign ministry. The E3 grouping have been some of Ukraine’s most staunch allies. Moscow said the ambassadors had been told of their countries’ “destructive” policy on Ukraine, accusing them of wanting to “continue the war against Russia on behalf of and at the expense of” European countries.
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Several western European countries – including France – have floated the idea of restarting a dialogue with Moscow to end the war. US-led talks to end it have led nowhere and have been sidelined by the Iran war, but Russia has in the past preferred to talk to Donald Trump’s administration, with the Kremlin not wanting European countries involved.
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Peter Beaumont has documented how Ukrainian forces are crippling Russian supply lines along what has been dubbed the “highway of death”. The R-280 constitutes a crucial route for Moscow’s military convoys as it snakes through Ukrainian territories under Moscow’s occupation, linking Rostov-on-Don in Russia to Melitopol, Mariupol and Crimea via the Sea of Azov coastline. Ukrainian drone operators say dozens of trucks and tankers have been destroyed as part of an intensified effort known as the “middle strike campaign”. Robert Brovdi, the commander of Ukraine’s drone forces, said military cargo traffic along the highway had fallen by 71% over the past two weeks. Traffic was suspended this week on the Chonhar Bridge – a key section of the road connecting Russia-occupied Kherson province to Crimea – after a series of Ukrainian drone strikes.
