Russia Wants Ukraine To "Crawl On Her Knees, Beg For Mercy"

While Ukraine is promoting a peace plan that has virtually no chance of being implemented, a top Russian official says there's no need to negotiate and "the enemy must crawl on his knees, begging for mercy."

Photo Insert: A peace-seeking gathering of more than 40 nations this weekend, organized by Ukraine and hosted by Saudi Arabia, drew heavyweights like the US, China, the United Kingdom, and European Union (EU) members.

That captures the state of a war in its 18th month with no resolution remotely in sight, Susan Miller and Jorge L. Ortiz reported for USA TODAY.

A peace-seeking gathering of more than 40 nations this weekend, organized by Ukraine and hosted by Saudi Arabia, drew heavyweights like the US, China, the United Kingdom, and European Union (EU) members.

Andriy Yermak, chief of staff for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that "we had very productive consultations on the key principles on which a just and lasting peace should be built."

But they didn't include an essential participant in Russia, which has shown no interest in a peace accord that includes terms Zelenskyy considers non-negotiable, such as restoration of Ukrainian territory the Kremlin has illegally annexed, including Crimea, and the prosecution of Russian war crimes.

According to Russian state media, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov branded the gathering that ended Sunday as another one of the West's "futile, doomed efforts" to rally support for Zelenskyy's stance.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of the country's Security Council, went considerably further.

Medvedev wrote on his Telegram channel that the current peace proposal lacks what he considers three key elements − participation from the conflicting sides, historical perspective, and accounting for current conditions.

"However," he added in his usual bombastic style, "the negotiations themselves are not yet needed. The enemy must crawl on his knees, begging for mercy."

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