Vatican's offer to provide negotiating platform is welcome, says Russia

Moscow: Russia said it welcomes Vatican's offer to provide a negotiating platform to resolve its war on Ukraine but Kyiv's position on the matter has made a negotiation impossible.

"Of course, we welcome such political will, but given the de facto and de jure situation that we now have on the Ukrainian side, such platforms cannot be in demand," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Moscow has repeatedly accused Ukraine of shutting down the possibility of peace talks by refusing to engage with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kyiv is also unwilling to accept the idea of ceding any territory Russia has forcefully seized. The West sees such actions as an imperial-style land grab.

Kyiv on Monday said Russia is preparing for a fresh wave of missile attacks on its energy grid. A Russian warship that can fire cruise missiles was recently deployed to the Black Sea. It has Kalibr-type missiles on board. Ukraine's military spokesperson Natalia Gumeniuk said this indicates that preparations are underway. She said it is likely that the beginning of the week will be marked by an attack.

Russia's attack on Ukraine's energy grid has pushed millions to a life of disrupted power and water supplies. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow will continue systemic attacks for as long as it has missiles.

Pope Francis said 10 days ago that the Vatican is willing to do anything possible to mediate and put an end to the conflict. The Pope has been frequently mentioning Ukraine in public. He also repeatedly warned about the risk of using nuclear weapons and its global consequences. He also directly implored Putin to stop the "spiral of violence and death." In the past nine months, several nations including Turkey, Israel, and China have tried to be potential mediators.