Russian president argues ‘root causes’ of war must be addressed, but Ambassador Vasyl Myroshnychenko says Putin has ‘ambition of destroying democracy next door’

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Vladimir Putin remains determined to “revive the Soviet Union” by “destroying democracy next door”, Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia has said in the wake of the Russian president’s inconclusive meeting with the US president, Donald Trump.

Putin and Trump met for nearly three hours in Alaska, emerging to tell reporters that “great progress” had been made on a deal to end Russia’s war on Ukraine but that there was no peace agreement.