Following a month-long stalemate, Ukraine has suggested holding a new round of peace talks with Russia.
Rustem Umerov, the head of the Defense Council, made the offer to meet with Russian negotiators for the following week, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s confirmation on Saturday.
In his evening address to the people, Zelenskyy said, “Everything should be done to bring about a ceasefire.” Russian President Vladimir Putin should stop avoiding decisions.
The leader of Ukraine also reiterated that he was prepared to meet with Putin in person. He argued that “peace at the leadership level is necessary to truly ensure lasting peace.”
Russia didn’t respond right away.
Next week, the NSDC’s secretary made the suggestion to meet with Russia. They must stop avoiding making decisions. a ceasefire exchanges between prisoners. Children’s return The killings have come to an end. And a leadership meeting is necessary to truly guarantee a lasting peace. Ukraine is prepared. pic. twitter.com/ksH7FzxnAE
Former defense minister Umerov was appointed last week as the leader of the National Security and Defence Council, and his job will be to give the negotiations more vigor.
In two earlier discussions in Turkiye earlier this year, he led the delegation of his country, which ended with a deal to exchange prisoners’ and soldiers’ remains.
In earlier rounds, Russia had outlined a list of unacceptable demands for Ukraine that demanded that it cede four of its own Ukrainian regions and reject Western military support.
However, Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, stated on Friday that Moscow agreed with Zelenskyy’s statement that peace efforts needed “more momentum.”
After initially displaying a cordial attitude toward Russia after taking office, American President Donald Trump increased the pressure on Moscow.
Trump set a 50-day deadline for Moscow to conclude its nuclear agreement with Ukraine this week, which would mean additional sanctions could be put in place for nations that purchase Russian oil.
He also promised to increase arms shipments to the nation at the height of the conflict.
The decision to resume weapons deliveries was a sign to Ukraine to “abandon the peace process,” according to Maria Zakharova, a ministry spokesperson, who stated on Thursday that Russia would not accept the “blackmail” of Washington’s sanctions ultimatum.
ongoing fire exchange
After Russian forces launched a massive drone attack on the Ukrainian Black Sea port city of Odesa early on Saturday, killing at least one resident and injuring six others, Kyiv extended its invitation to discuss further talks with Moscow.
The Ukrainian president claimed that during its overnight assault, which affected 10 of the nation’s ten regions, Russia launched more than 30 missiles and 300 drones.
In the southern Rostov region, Russia was forced to halt trains for about four hours overnight after a Ukrainian drone attack seriously injured a railway worker.
Russian air defense systems shot down three drones en route to Moscow, according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, on Saturday, according to a Telegram post.
According to Russian aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia, two Moscow airports, Vnukovo and Domodedovo, temporarily suspended arrivals and departures for safety-related reasons before returning to normal operations.
Between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., according to the Russian Defense Ministry’s air defense systems (GMT) between 3 p.m. and 16 p.m.