A visibly frustrated Zelenskyy left open the possibility of territorial concessions in exchange for security guarantees, but sharply rejected pulling back Ukrainian forces from parts of eastern Ukraine. “We cannot do this,” he said. “What is the compromise? Will we be in Nato? In the EU? I haven’t heard anything, not a single proposal that would guarantee that a new war won’t start tomorrow.” via @fabrice_deprez @FT ft.com/content/1a073378-3d16…

If you aren’t familiar with and knowledgeable of the situation it is better to ask questions than to push conspiracy theories. As I have been in close contact with those in Ukraine’s government working to return Ukrainian children abducted by Russia and was just on a call with Zelensky who explained the 400 figure today, I’ll explain. There are indeed thousands of Ukrainian children who have been taken one way or another to Russia. Because there are so many, and Russia is a vast country, and adoption agencies and foster parents and relatives etc have moved these children around, it’s hard to be certain of their location. Then there are the Russian requirements for returning a child, which include that Ukraine must have a legal guardian who has confirmed they are who they say they are and in many cases is willing to come to Russia to retrieve the child in order for them to be released. Russia has completely disappeared many of the Ukrainian children. It has also denied information about many of them when requested. This is all to say that it is a highly complex situation and the 400 names provided by Ukraine to the Russia side today include those children who have been confirmed to be in Russia, whose locations are known and who have legal guardians who want them returned and are willing to do whatever Russia requires to get them back. However, Russia said today it is willing to only work on returning 10 of these Ukrainian children. We don’t know why it said only 10. But Zelensky said this at least served as an acknowledgment that they have taken these children.