LVIV, Ukraine – Ukraine said it had begun “hard” talks on a ceasefire, immediate withdrawal of troops and security guarantees with Russia on Monday, despite the fatal shelling of a residential building in Kyiv.
Both sides reported rare progress at the weekend after earlier rounds have primarily focused on ceasefires to get aid to towns and cities under siege by Russian forces and evacuate civilians; those truces have frequently failed.
Firefighters tackled the remains of the blaze at the apartment block in the capital where a stunned young resident described the chaos of the previous night in a city targeted by the Russian advance but so far largely spared bombardment.
Officials said at least one person was killed and three were hospitalized. One body, mostly covered, still lay on the ground.
Russia denies targeting civilians, describing its actions as a “special operation” to demilitarize and “denazify” Ukraine. Ukraine and Western allies call this a baseless pretext for a war of choice.
Posting online ahead of the talks, Ukrainian negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak wrote: “Negotiations. 4th round. On peace, ceasefire, immediate withdrawal of troops & security guarantees.” He later said discussions had started but were hard, because the political systems of Russia and Ukraine were too different.
Podolyak said he believed Russia “still has a delusion that 19 days of violence against (Ukrainian) peaceful cities is the right strategy.”
Russia has accused Ukraine of using civilians as human shields, an allegation Kyiv has firmly denied.
Moscow said earlier Russia was in control and it saw no reason for United Nations peacekeepers to be sent to Ukraine, a prospect that had not been widely considered up to now.
While Russian troops have yet to enter the capital, thousands of people have died in other occupied or encircled towns and villages since the invasion on Feb. 24.
The Kyiv city administration said the Antonov aircraft plant there had been shelled. Reuters was not immediately able to verify that report.
Regional governor Oleksiy Kuleba said frontline towns near Kyiv were being evacuated on Monday for the fifth day. “The ceasefire in our region is holding, albeit it is very conditional,” Kuleba said, adding that occasional explosions could be heard in the distance from the place he was stationed.
Podolyak said on Sunday that Russia was beginning to talk “constructively” and he expected some results in a matter of days. Russian delegate Leonid Slutsky was quoted by RIA as saying a draft agreement could be reached soon.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said a clear aim of his negotiators who were speaking daily to the Russians, was to “do everything” to arrange for him to meet Putin.
“We must hold on. We must fight. And we will win,” Zelenskiy said in a late night video speech.
Moscow had earlier widened its assault, with an attack on a base near the border with NATO member Poland.
Ukraine said 35 people had been killed at the base while Moscow said up to 180 “foreign mercenaries” died and a large number of foreign weapons were destroyed. — Reuters
