Recent media reports indicate that the West pressured Ukraine to stop the ongoing negotiations with Russia, which led to the collapse of the talks being held in Istanbul 

In this episode of Mapping Faultlines, NewsClick’s Prabir Purkayastha talks about the face-off over energy in the Ukraine war. He explains the implications of Russia’s decision to stop supplies of natural gas to Poland and Bulgaria

In the past, Ukraine has denied several Russian proposals to conduct the evacuation through humanitarian corridors, leading Russia to accuse it of using civilians as human shield  

Russia alleges that the US and NATO are pushing for the continuation of the war by supplying heavy weapons to Ukraine and pressuring its president to backtrack from the promises made during the talks earlier  

Putin claimed that until Ukraine recognizes Crimea as part of Russia and the independence of the Donbass republics, “no progress could be reached in the talks”

Russia has alleged that Western countries and media have deliberately ignored the facts that deny its involvement in the Bucha killings for the sole purpose of derailing the progress made in the peace talks so far and prolong the war

A leaked version of Japan’s yearly text on its foreign policy suggests that its government is taking a tougher stance on its long-standing conflict with Russia

The US government, notable wielder of chemical weapons, plans to violently escalate Ukraine conflict if Russia uses chemical weapons

The war in Ukraine has caused a massive humanitarian crisis in Europe and exposed several faultlines on the basis of race and geo-strategic calculations across the world, which, if unaddressed, will continue to undermine world peace in the future

Zelensky continues to demand more sanctions on Russia and a no-fly zone over Ukraine to be implemented by NATO, while also expressing that his country will not be a member of the grouping

The United States has a long history of amplifying existing prejudices under the cover of war hysteria to manufacture consent for its actions

The very fact the Ukraine-Russia talks have been elevated to foreign minister level signals hope that a critical mass may be accruing