Blinken says no Ukraine cease-fire without a peace deal that includes Russia's withdrawal

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that a cease-fire successful the warfare successful Ukraine could not beryllium declared unless it was portion of a "just and lasting" bid woody that included Russia's subject withdrawal.

Blinken said that "a cease-fire that simply freezes existent lines successful place" and allowed Russian President Vladimir Putin "to consolidate power implicit the territory helium has seized, and rest, rearm, and reattack — that is not a conscionable and lasting peace."

Russia indispensable besides wage a stock of Ukraine's reconstruction and beryllium held accountable for launching its full-scale penetration of its neighbour successful February 2022, Blinken said successful a code during a sojourn to Finland, which precocious joined NATO and shares a agelong borderline with Russia.

Allowing Moscow to support the one-fifth of the Ukrainian territory it had occupied would nonstop the incorrect connection to Russia and to "other would-be aggressors astir the world," according to Blinken.

Russia, however, wants immoderate talks to code Ukraine's petition to articulation NATO. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pushed for the country's rank successful the Western subject confederation that the Kremlin sees arsenic a threat.

"Naturally, this (issue) volition beryllium 1 of the main irritants and imaginable problems for many, galore years to come," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Friday.

Blinken said Washington was acceptable to enactment bid efforts by different countries, including caller overtures from China and Brazil. But immoderate bid statement indispensable uphold the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence.

The United States is simply a starring Western state and supplier of arms to Kyiv to assistance it propulsion backmost against the Kremlin's forces.

China, which says it is neutral and wants to service arsenic a mediator but has supported Moscow politically, connected Friday urged countries to halt sending weapons to Ukraine.

In Kyiv, aerial defenses changeable down much than 30 Russian cruise missiles and drones Friday successful Moscow's sixth aerial onslaught successful six days, section officials said.

The Ukrainian superior was simultaneously attacked from antithetic directions by Iranian-made Shahed drones and cruise missiles from the Caspian region, elder Kyiv authoritative Serhii Popko wrote connected Telegram.

A 68-year-old antheral and an 11-year-old kid were wounded successful the attack, with backstage houses, outbuildings and cars sustaining harm from falling debris, according to Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office.

A caller spate of attacks connected the superior has enactment a strain connected residents and tested the spot of Ukraine's aerial defenses portion Kyiv officials crippled what they accidental is an upcoming counteroffensive to propulsion backmost the Kremlin's forces 15 months aft their full-scale invasion. Kyiv was the people of drone and rocket attacks connected 17 days past month, including daylight attacks.

Moscow's strategy could backfire, however, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based deliberation tank.

The aerial run aims to "degrade Ukrainian counteroffensive capabilities, but ... the Russian prioritization of Kyiv is apt further limiting the campaign's quality to meaningfully constrain imaginable Ukrainian counteroffensive actions," it said successful an appraisal precocious Thursday.

Ukrainian aerial defenses intercepted each 15 cruise missiles and 21 onslaught drones targeted astatine Kyiv connected Thursday night, Ukraine's main of staff, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said.

Ukraine's statesmanlike bureau said Friday that astatine slightest 4 civilians were killed and 42 wounded implicit the erstwhile 24 hours.

The Moscow-appointed politician of Ukraine's occupied Donetsk province, Denis Pushilin, claimed Friday that 3 radical had been killed and 4 wounded, including a 3-year-old girl, by Ukrainian strikes connected the region.

The erstwhile day, Ukraine said a 9-year-old and her parent were killed successful Kyiv by a Russian pre-dawn rocket barrage.

Meanwhile, borderline regions of Russia erstwhile again came nether occurrence from Ukraine. Recent cross-border raids person besides rattled those regions of Russia and enactment the Kremlin connected guard.

That could beryllium a Ukrainian strategy to disperse Russian forces earlier a counteroffensive begins.

"Russian commanders present look an acute dilemma of whether to (strengthen) defenses successful Russia's borderline regions oregon reenforce their lines successful occupied Ukraine," the U.K. Ministry of Defense said Friday.

Air defence systems changeable down "several Ukrainian drones" overnight Thursday successful Russia's confederate Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, determination Gov. Roman Starovoit wrote connected Telegram.

In the neighboring Bryansk region, which besides borders Ukraine, determination Gov. Alexander Bogomaz said that Ukrainian forces shelled 2 villages connected Friday morning. No casualties were reported.

Two drones besides attacked vigor facilities successful Russia's occidental Smolensk region, which borders Belarus, successful the aboriginal hours of Friday, officials said.