Putin: Put Ukraine Under UN Governance 03/28 06:07

   Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed Friday to put Ukraine under 
external governance under the U.N. aegis as part of efforts to reach a peaceful 
settlement, a blustery statement that reflected the Kremlin leader's 
determination to achieve his war goals.

   (AP) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed Friday to put Ukraine 
under external governance under the U.N. aegis as part of efforts to reach a 
peaceful settlement, a blustery statement that reflected the Kremlin leader's 
determination to achieve his war goals.

   Speaking to the crew of a Russian nuclear submarine in televised remarks 
broadcast early Friday, Putin reaffirmed his claim that Ukrainian President 
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose term expired last year, lacks the legitimacy to sign 
a peace deal.

   Under Ukraine's constitution it is illegal for the country to hold national 
elections while it's under martial law.

   Putin claimed that any agreement that is signed with the current Ukrainian 
government could be challenged by its successors and said new elections could 
be held under external governance.

   "Under the auspices of the United Nations, with the United States, even with 
European countries, and, of course, with our partners and friends, we could 
discuss the possibility of introduction of temporary governance in Ukraine," 
Putin said, adding that it would allow the country to "hold democratic 
elections, to bring to power a viable government that enjoys the trust of the 
people, and then begin negotiations with them on a peace treaty."

   He added that such external governance is just "one of the options," without 
elaborating.

   'They're playing for time'

   Putin's remarks came hours after the conclusion of a summit hosted by French 
President Emmanuel Macron that considered plans to deploy troops to Ukraine to 
cement an eventual peace deal. Macron said "several" other nations want to be 
part of the force alongside France and Britain.

   Russia has warned it wouldn't accept any troops from NATO members as part of 
a prospective peacekeeping force.

   Macron and other participants of the Paris summit on Thursday accused Russia 
of only pretending to want a negotiated settlement.

   "They are playing games and they're playing for time," said U.K. Prime 
Minister Keir Starmer. "We can't let them drag this out while they continue 
prosecuting their illegal invasion."

   Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a tentative U.S-brokered deal to pause 
strikes on energy infrastructure, but quickly accused each other of violations, 
underscoring the challenges to negotiating a broader peace.

   Drone attacks continue

   Russia launched 163 strike and decoy drones at Ukraine late Thursday, 
according to the Ukrainian air force, which said that 89 of them were downed 
and 51 more jammed.

   The drones damaged multiple residential buildings and injured a 19-year-old 
in Zaporizhzhia, regional head Ivan Fedorov said. In Poltava, drones damaged 
warehouses, administrative building, and a high-voltage transformer, according 
to regional head Volodymyr Kohut.

   Damage to buildings and infrastructure facilities was also reported by the 
authorities in the Odesa, Kharkiv, Dnipro and Mykolaiv regions.

   Ukraine's state-run gas company, Naftogaz, said Friday that its facilities 
came under Russian fire without specifying its time and location.

   The Russian Defense Ministry said that Ukrainian forces struck a gas 
metering station in Sudzha in the Kursk region with U.S.-made HIMARS rockets, 
completely destroying the facility. It said another Ukrainian strike on an 
energy facility in Russia's Bryansk region led to a power cutoff, and added 
that air defenses downed 19 Ukrainian drones that attempted to strike an oil 
refinery in Saratov.

   The ministry charged that the continuing strikes show that Kyiv's pledge of 
adherence to a U.S.-proposed halt on strikes on energy facilities was just 
"another ruse by Zelenskyy to prevent the collapse of Ukrainian defenses and to 
restore military potential with the help of European allies."

   While Ukraine has agreed to a full, 30-day ceasefire that Trump has 
proposed, Putin has made a complete ceasefire conditional on a halt of arms 
supplies to Kyiv and a suspension of Ukraine's military mobilization -- demands 
rejected by Ukraine and its Western allies.

   Putin's demands

   Russian troops have made slow but steady gains in several sectors of the 
more than 1,000-kilometer (over 620-mile) frontline, and Zelenskyy warned 
Thursday that Russia was trying to drag out talks in preparation for bigger 
offensives.

   Putin declared in overnight remarks that the Russian troops have "gained 
steam" and "are holding strategic initiative all along the line of contact."

   He noted that Russia is open to a peaceful settlement, but emphasized the 
need to "remove root causes that led to the current situation."

   "We certainly need to ensure Russia's security for a long historic 
perspective," he said.

   Putin has demanded that Kyiv withdraw its forces from the four regions 
Moscow has partially seized. He also wants Ukraine to renounce joining NATO, 
sharply cut its army and legally protect Russian language and culture to keep 
the country in Moscow's orbit.

   Russian officials also have said that any prospective peace deal should 
involve unfreezing Russian assets in the West and lifting other U.S. and 
European Union sanctions. The Trump administration has said it would consider 
potential sanctions relief.