Moscow not expecting ‘breakthroughs' from Ukraine talks
That came after the Kremlin on Monday said that the two sides were far apart in their visions on how to end the more than three-year-old conflict, and as they continued to pummel each other with drones and missiles.
'We don't have any reason to hope for some miraculous breakthroughs,' Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a regular briefing in answer to AFP's question about the Kremlin's expectations from the talks.
Outlining potential topics for discussion, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kyiv was ready to 'secure the release of our people from captivity and return abducted children, to stop the killings, and to prepare a leaders' meeting.'
Moscow said that 'a lot of work lies ahead' before even discussions could take place about possible talks between Putin and Zelensky, who last met in 2019. Ukraine said its ex-defence minister and current secretary of the security council, Rustem Umerov, will head Kyiv's delegation on the talks on Wednesday.
But the Kremlin said only that it hoped talks could be held 'this week'.
'As soon as we are ready, we will make an announcement regarding the dates,' Peskov said.
Moscow's delegation at the last round of talks with Ukraine was led by a hawkish historian and the current head of the Russian Union of Writers, Vladimir Medinsky, whom Ukraine described as a puppet with no authority.
Ukrainian and Russian delegations met in Istanbul on May 16 and on June 2 as Washington stepped up pressure for a deal, but no breakthroughs were made and the talks only yielded agreements to exchange prisoners and soldiers' bodies.
At the frontline, far from the diplomatic deliberations, the brutal conflict raged on, with Moscow and Kyiv saying that they had intercepted dozens of drones launched at each other.
The Russian army also said that it had captured the village of Novotoretskoye in the Donetsk region — the latest advance as Moscow intensifies its ground offensive.
A Ukrainian drone strike on a private bus in the Russian-occupied part of the Kherson region killed three people and wounded another three, a Moscow-installed official said.
Another man died in Russia's western border Belgorod region after a Ukrainian attack, according to the local governor.
At the same time, a Russian drone and missile salvo on Ukraine killed a 10-year-old boy in the eastern frontline city of Kramatorsk, and wounded more than a dozen people across the country, Kyiv's authorities said.
In recent weeks, Russia has fired a record number of drones and missiles at Ukrainian cities, and seized more frontline territory, which Kyiv says is evidence that Moscow is not serious about halting the all-out offensive it launched in February 2022.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
22 minutes ago
- Express Tribune
27 Palestinians dead in Israeli strikes
Gaza civil defence agency said Israeli army fire killed 27 Palestinians, 12 of them near aid distribution areas. However, Jordanian and Emirati planes dropped food into Gaza on Sunday, as Israel began a limited "tactical pause" in military operations to allow the UN and aid agencies to tackle a deepening hunger crisis. UN emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher welcomed the tactical pauses, saying he was in "contact with our teams on the ground who will do all we can to reach as many starving people as we can in this window". But the UN's World Food Programme said a third of the population of Gaza had not eaten for days, and 470,000 people were "enduring famine-like conditions" that were already leading to deaths. The Israeli decision came as international pressure mounted on Netanyahu's government to head off the risk of mass starvation in the territory. Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz joined the chorus of concern on Sunday, urging Netanyahu "to provide the starving civilian population in Gaza with urgently needed humanitarian aid now." Since Israel imposed a total blockade on aid entering Gaza on March 2, the situation inside the territory has deteriorated sharply. More than 100 NGOs warned this week of "mass starvation". Though aid has trickled back in since late May, the UN and humanitarian agencies say Israeli restrictions remain excessive and road access inside Gaza is tightly controlled. The Jordanian military said its planes, working with the United Arab Emirates, had delivered 25 tonnes of aid in three parachute drops over Gaza on Sunday. Truckloads of flour were also seen arriving in northern Gaza through the Zikim area crossing from Israel, according to AFP journalists. The charity Oxfam's regional policy chief Bushra Khalidi warned that the supply could prove insufficient. "Starvation won't be solved by a few trucks or airdrops," she said. "What's needed is a real humanitarian response: ceasefire, full access, all crossings open, and a steady, large-scale flow of aid into Gaza. "We need a permanent ceasefire, a complete lifting of the siege." In general, humanitarian officials are deeply sceptical airdrops can deliver enough food safely to tackle the hunger crisis facing Gaza's more than two million inhabitants. In Gaza City's Tel al-Hawa district, 30-year-old Suad Ishtaywi said her "life's wish" was to simply feed her children. She spoke of her husband returning empty-handed from aid points daily.
Business Recorder
2 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Ukrainian drones target St Petersburg as Putin attends scaled-down Navy Day
MOSCOW: Ukrainian drones targeted St. Petersburg on Sunday, Russian authorities said, forcing the airport to close for five hours as Vladimir Putin marked Russia's Navy Day in the city, despite the earlier cancellation of its naval parade due to security concerns. St. Petersburg usually holds a large-scale, televised navy parade on Navy Day, which features a flotilla of warships and military vessels sailing down the Neva River and is attended by Putin. Last year, Russia suspected a Ukrainian plan to attack the city's parade, according to state television. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Sunday that this year's parade had been cancelled for security reasons, following first reports of its cancellation in early July. Putin arrived at the city's historic naval headquarters on Sunday by patrol speed boat, from where he followed drills involving more than 150 vessels and 15,000 military personnel in the Pacific and Arctic Oceans and Baltic and Caspian Seas.
Business Recorder
2 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Thailand and Cambodia to hold peace talks after more border clashes
SAMRAONG, (Cambodia): Thailand and Cambodia's leaders will meet in Malaysia for peace talks on Monday, as the countries clashed for a fourth day in a deadly border dispute. At least 34 people have been killed and more than 200,000 displaced as the countries, both popular tourist destinations, fight over a smattering of contested border temples. Bangkok announced on Sunday that acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet will meet for talks mediated by Malaysian leader Anwar Ibrahim, who chairs the ASEAN regional bloc of which Thailand and Cambodia are members. Anwar said the expected talks were to focus on an immediate ceasefire between the two fighting neighbours. 'They (government representatives of Cambodia and Thailand) have asked me to try and negotiate a peace settlement,' the Bernama national news agency quoted Anwar as saying late Sunday. 'I'm discussing the parameters, the conditions, but what is important is (an) immediate ceasefire,' the Malaysian premier said. Cambodia has not commented on the planned talks, which are due to begin at 3:00 pm (0700 GMT). US President Donald Trump, who spoke to both leaders late Saturday, said they had agreed to 'quickly work out' a ceasefire. Trump has threatened both nations with eye-watering levies in his global tariff blitz unless they agree to independent trade deals. 'When all is done, and Peace is at hand, I look forward to concluding our Trading Agreements with both!' he wrote on social media. Fresh artillery clashes erupted on Sunday morning near two long-contested ancient temples in the frontier region between northern Cambodia and northeast Thailand which has seen the bulk of the fighting. Cambodian defence ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata said Thai forces began attacking areas around the temples at 4:50 am. 'We rushed to leave the house this morning,' said 61-year-old Thai border resident Maefah, rearranging bin bags of her family's belongings in the back of a truck stopped at a petrol station in Surin province. 'All of my neighbours have already left. And we didn't feel safe to stay any longer,' she said, declining to give her surname. The regular thump of artillery rattled windows in the Cambodian town of Samraong, around 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the front line, AFP journalists said. Thai army deputy spokesman Ritcha Suksuwanon said Cambodian forces began firing artillery around 4:00 am as the two sides battled for control of strategic positions. With the conflict enflaming nationalist sentiments, Thailand issued a warning to its own citizens to 'refrain from any kind of violence, whether in speech or action' against Cambodian migrants living in the country. Cambodia's Hun Manet on Sunday said his country 'agreed with the proposal for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire between the two armed forces'. After Trump's call, Phumtham said he had agreed in principle to enter a ceasefire and start talks. But on Sunday each side blamed the other again for undermining peace efforts. The Thai foreign ministry accused Cambodian forces of firing shells into civilian homes in Surin province. 'Any cessation of hostilities cannot be reached while Cambodia is severely lacking in good faith,' the ministry said. Meanwhile Cambodia's defence ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata denied that its forces fired first and accused Thailand of 'deliberate and coordinated acts of aggression'. The border dispute erupted into combat on Thursday with jets, tanks and ground troops battling in the rural border region, marked by a ridge of hills surrounded by wild jungle and agricultural land where locals farm rubber and rice. Thailand says eight of its soldiers and 13 civilians have been killed, while Cambodia has confirmed eight civilian and five military deaths. The conflict has forced more than 138,000 people to be evacuated from Thailand's border regions, and 80,000 have been driven from their homes in Cambodia. The Cambodian government has also accused Thai forces of using cluster munitions, while Bangkok has accused Phnom Penh of targeting hospitals.
