One of Vladimir Putin’s top aides secured a deal with Kyiv as the war kicked off that would have met demands that Ukraine stay out of NATO, but the Russian leader rejected the offer in favor of continuing the onslaught, Reuters reports. Three sources told Reuters that Dmitry Kozak, Putin’s envoy on Ukraine, urged him to accept the deal, as it would help Russia avoid an all-out war against the country. But Putin reportedly claimed the terms of the deal didn’t go far enough to meet Russia’s demands, so he shot it down and set his sights on taking even more Ukrainian territory. “After Feb. 24, Kozak was given carte blanche: They gave him the green light; he got the deal. He brought it back and they told him to clear off. Everything was canceled. Putin simply changed the plan as he went along,” one source was quoted saying. The Kremlin has denied the claim, with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov calling the reported deal “absolutely incorrect information” and insisting that “no such thing ever happened.”
