Russian President Vladimir Putin has signalled he is open to bilateral talks with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time since the early stages of the war.
Speaking to Russian state TV on Monday, Putin said Russia had “always looked positively on any peace initiatives. We hope that representatives of the Kyiv regime will feel the same way”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin’s comments indicated a willingness to engage in direct talks with Ukraine about not striking civilian targets.
Meanwhile, Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities have continued. A hit on an apartment block in Zaporizhzhia on Tuesday killed one woman and injured 15 others, including two children.
Footage showed the smouldering damage of the high-rise residential building and a burning vehicle on the street.
Ukrainian authorities also reported several attacks elsewhere across the country on Tuesday, including a massive drone attack on the eastern city of Kharkiv that injured at least seven people, and a strike on a medical facility in south-east Kherson.
In the port city of Odesa, three people were injured when a drone strike hit a five-storey unit block on Monday night. Other buildings were targeted, local authorities reported.
Putin’s remarks came after Zelensky suggested a 30-day ceasefire on civilian targets, following a brief Easter truce where both sides accused each other of breaches.
Some critics called the 30-hour truce a marketing stunt by Moscow. France’s foreign minister, Jean- Noël Barrot, said it had been designed to prevent Donald Trump from getting impatient and angry.
The US President said earlier this week that he was hopeful Russia and Ukraine would reach a deal this week, after he had threatened to “take a pass” on further peace negotiations if no progress is made.
Zelensky did not respond directly to Putin’s comments about possible talks, but said Ukraine was “ready for any conversation” that would ensure the safety of civilians.
There have been no direct talks between Russia and Ukraine since the initial weeks after the former launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“When the president said that it was possible to discuss the issue of not striking civilian targets, including bilaterally, the president had in mind negotiations and discussions with the Ukrainian side,” Peskov told the Interfax news agency, clarifying Putin’s remarks.
Zelensky, in his nightly video address, on Monday said Ukraine needed a “clear answer from Moscow” on whether it would agree to stop attacks on civilian infrastructure.
Referring to the short-lived and limited truce declared by Putin over Easter, the Ukrainian leader proposed a follow-up that would “cease any strikes using long-range drones and missiles on civilian infrastructure for a period of at least 30 days”.
“If Russia does not agree to such a step, it will be proof that it wants to continue doing only things that destroy people’s lives and continue the war,” he said.
Putin said the Kremlin would “analyse” the idea, telling journalists that “as for the proposal not to strike at civilian infrastructure facilities… this needs to be sorted out”.
In a rare admission, he acknowledged that the military had targeted a civilian building when Russian missiles killed 35 people and wounded more than 100 others in the centre of the north-eastern city of Sumy earlier this month.
“Everyone is well aware of the strike by our Armed Forces on a congress centre, I think, in Sumy Region. Is it a civilian facility or not? Civilian. But there was an award ceremony for those who committed crimes in Kursk Region”.
The centre of Sumy was busy at the time, with people out on the streets marking Palm Sunday. The region’s deputy leader was later fired after reports of the medal ceremony taking place in a local congress hall emerged.
Ukraine is due to participate in talks with US and European countries in London on Wednesday, following a meeting in Paris last week where leaders discussed pathways to end the war.
Zelensky said the “primary task” of the talks would be “to push for an unconditional ceasefire”.
