‘I will thrash them’: Putin threatens Ukrainian President after receiving peace offer

Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly threatened to thrash Ukrainian President Zelenskyy after he received a peace offer.

“Tell him I will thrash them,” Putin told Russian oligarch and unofficial peacemaker Roman Abramovich when h presented him with a handwritten note from Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. 

The handwritten note detailed Ukraine’s conditions for ending the war, as per a report in The Times.

Earlier, sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich had accepted Ukraine’s request to help in the negotiations to bring an end to the war which began on February 24. The Chelsea Football Club owner has reportedly been flitting between Istanbul, Moscow, and Kyiv to relay messages from one president to the other.

On Monday, it was reported by The Wall Street Journal that Roman Abramovich and Ukrainian peace negotiators suffered symptoms of suspected poisoning after a meeting in Ukraine’s capital city Kyiv earlier this month.

The report mentioned that the symptoms included red eyes and peeling skin on their faces and hands.

Abramovich and the Ukrainian negotiators’ health have improved from before and they are currently out of danger, the report stated.

Meanwhile, the first face-to-face talks between Russia and Ukraine are due to take place in Turkey on Tuesday. As per a Reuters report, Ukraine’s top objective is to secure a ceasefire, although both it and the United States are skeptical of a breakthrough.

“The minimum program will be humanitarian questions and the maximum program is reaching an agreement on a ceasefire,” Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said. “We are not trading people, land, or sovereignty,” he added.

Ukrainian forces have “liberated” the Kyiv suburb of Irpin, the country’s interior minister said.

Russian attacks near Ukraine’s capital Kyiv have cut power to more than 80,000 homes, officials said.

The Russian invasion that began on February 24 has resulted in an exodus of more than 3.5 million people from Ukraine to other nations. Several civilians, including children, and many more soldiers – from both sides – have lost their lives in the war.