Russian state TV hosts boasted their strategy of “divide and conquer” was working as several Western leaders were accused of appeasing Vladimir Putin. Earlier today, neighbouring Baltic politicians lashed out at French and German leaders for talking directly with Vladimir Putin. Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz spoke to President Putin by phone for 80 minutes.
Figures on Russian state TV delighted in the news, as a growing number of US and EU officials appear to appease President Putin by urging Ukraine to cede territory to Russia.
Evgeny Popov, a host of state-run channel Russia-1, cited former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger for saying Ukraine should hand over territory to Russia in exchange for peace.
Alexei Zhuravlyov, a State Duma member, mocked these claims, saying the calls for compromise and appeasement showed Moscow was winning the war.
He said: “If you think you can offer us something so we feel satisfied and stop, that won’t happen.
“We started a special operation with one goal – look at our security guarantees.”
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He continued: “If you think you can offer us recognition of Crimea and we think that’s excellent, no, no.
“Some leaders are starting to see things clearly. We are moving slowly but confidently,
“They are trying to come up with something like Minsk II, just so Ukraine can remain and they arm it again. They will have to reckon with us.”
Viktor Baranets, a military expert, told Russia-1 that NATO was “turning out to be an empty shell”.
He said: “We see what is happening in Europe. Even in the so-called tight-knit ranks of NATO, a very serious rift is underway.
Marko Mihkelson, head of the Estonian parliament’s foreign affairs committee, slammed Mr Macron and Mr Scholz’s call to President Putin today.
He said: “It is incredible how the leaders of France and Germany are inadvertently paving the way for new acts of violence by Russia.
“How is it possible neither Paris nor Berlin have learned from history?
“Why is it presumed that Putin, currently waging a war on a major European people, intends to keep any promise?”
Artis Pabriks, Latvia’s deputy prime minister, similarly tweeted: “It seems that there are number of so-called Western leaders who possess explicit need for self-humiliation in combination with total detachment from political reality.”