The Kremlin's propaganda war is intensifying

Just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed to be ready to negotiate a peace treaty, saying “it’s not us who refuse talks, it’s them,” one of his top officials said Ukraine must demilitarize or “the Russian army (will) solve the issue.”

Hi, I'm Nicole Fallert and here's an update on Ukraine.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's threat on Tuesday seemed to ignore Ukraine's numerous gains from the counteroffensive it launched in early September – supported by U.S.-supplied weapons – and might be intended to boost the flagging morale of Russian troops.

"The ball is on the side of the (Kyiv) regime and Washington that stands behind its back,” Lavrov told the state Tass news agency about a possible end date to the war. “They may stop senseless resistance at any moment.”

Also in the news: France’s defense minister arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday to discuss further military support for Ukraine. French Minister for the Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu placed a wreath at a heroes’ monument in Ukraine's capital. France, which has been less vocal about its military support for Ukraine than the United States and Britain, has sent a steady supply of weapons to Ukraine since Russia's invasion on Feb. 24. Lecornu tweeted that the French government’s backing is “constant” while efforts are made to reach an eventual negotiated end to the war.

More updates: The Bosnian Security Ministry said Wednesday that about 50 people, predominantly from Russia’s Chechnya region, were congregated near Bosnia’s northwestern border with EU-member Croatia. The ministry says the travelers want to reach the EU "because, in their own words, they are fleeing military draft” in Russia. Russians can enter Bosnia without a visa and are permitted to stay in the country for a maximum of 90 days.