Ukraine dismisses Putin’s pledge not to target Zelenskyy

Ukraine leaders on Sunday dismissed as “lies” a pledge reportedly made by Russian President Vladimir Putin not to kill Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Naftali Bennett, whose brief run as Israel’s prime minister ended in June, met with Putin in Moscow less than two weeks after Russia’s February invasion.

“He gave me two great concessions,” Bennett said in an interview with Israeli journalist Hanoch Daum released late Saturday. “I said, ‘ Do you intend to kill Zelenskyy?’ He said, ‘ I won’t kill Zelenskyy.”

Putin also agreed not to demand that Ukraine disarm, Bennett said. He said he immediately relayed the information to Zelenskyy, who promised not to join NATO. Both sides have moved away from those positions.

Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba dismissed Putin’s pledge, tweeting that Putin had made promises not to occupy Crimea and not to invade Ukraine.

“Do not be fooled,” Kuleba said of Putin. “He is an expert liar.”

Zelenskyy adviser Mykhailo Podoliak also rejected the claims, tweeting that the Russian invasion “isn’t about NATO expansion, security guarantees or sanctions, it’s ( Russia’s) desire to destroy & kill Ukrainians.”

Russia gaining ground near city of Bakhmut

Over the past week, Russia has made “small’ advances in its attempt to encircle the crucial Donbas town of Bakhmut, the British Defense Ministry said. The two main roads into the city for Ukrainian defenders likely are now both threatened by direct fire, the assessment says. Last week, Russian forces “highly likely” seized a subordinate route linking Bakhmut to Siversk.

“While multiple alternative crosscountry supply routes remain available to Ukrainian forces, Bakhmut is increasingly isolated,” the assessment says.

Bakhmut is considered an important link in the supply line for both sides. Unfettered access would be key to seizing control of the Donetsk region, which Russia has claimed to annex but thus far has not been able to fully occupy.

Ukraine expects to get fighter jets from West

Western nations probably will grant Ukraine’s request for warplanes soon, despite recent public rejections of the request from President Joe Biden and other world leaders, Ukraine’s defense minister said Sunday. Oleksii Reznikov said Ukraine has received everything from its “wish list to Santa,” except planes.

He said the planes are crucial if Ukraine is to repel a Russian offensive he predicted could begin around the war’s one- year anniversary, Feb. 24. Biden, when asked at the White House on Monday whether his country would provide F- 16s, answered “no.”

ANDRII MARIENKO/ AP A woman walks out from a residential building which was hit by a Russian rocket, in the city center of Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Sunday.