Kremlin Rejects Ceasefire That Would Give Ukraine Breathing Room

Peskov's framing matters less as a diplomatic signal than as a constraint on what November's planned talks can produce: Moscow is publicly reserving the right to keep striking while negotiating, which inverts the usual logic of talks as a de-escalation window. The explicit link to Ukraine's Samara refinery strike suggests infrastructure inside Russia is now part of the bargaining texture, not just the battlefield backdrop. Whether the November process convenes at all, and on what terms, is the open question worth watching.