Ukrainian envoy calls for reparations as part of any agreement to end war

A senior Ukrainian diplomat has called on Russia to be given a reparations bill as part of any deal to end the war.

Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK, said Russia “has to pay for everything” after launching an invasion that has destroyed cities and caused ramifications that have been felt globally. The

Ukrainian economy is expected to contract by almost half this year.

Mr Prystaiko, who said his views were not Ukraine’s official negotiating position, also called for Russia to be prosecuted for war crimes.

Direct peace talks have not taken place since March 29, shortly before the bodies of civilians were found in areas occupied by Russian forces.

Russian President Vladimir

Putin praised his country’s troops yesterday during a Victory Day event and gave little indication that he was planning to end the conflict.

But UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said Mr Putin has given himself a possible way out by focusing on capturing the eastern Donbas region.

Ukraine has said it could negotiate in a situation where Russia and its allied separatists retreat to the territory they held on February 23, which included parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Mr Prystaiko told a King’s College London defence conference that his country was still seeking EU membership but did not plan to join Nato.

But he called for Russia to pay for the damage it has caused as another condition of peace.

“I can’t see why we have to look into the pockets of western taxpayers’ money for the after-war reconstruction. I believe Russia has to pay for everything,” he said.

Mr Wallace told the same conference that sanctions imposed on Russia would take a toll when Moscow struggled to replenish its forces.

But Mr Wallace issued a warning that Russia could try to use brutality to turn the conflict in its favour.

“If you win your war by killing, murdering, raping, bombing civilian territories, breaching all human rights, all Geneva Conventions, corruption and that becomes the battle-winning component, the message that sends around the world to other adversaries ... is incredibly dangerous,” he said.

“That’s why it matters to the international community and should matter, that if Putin is successful in Ukraine, then watch out.”