Russia, Ukraine truce talks overshadowed by new fighting
By Stefan J. Bos
Forty minutes seemed short to end a war that is believed to have killed and injured more than one million people on both sides.
That’s why officials said the brief Istanbul meeting between delegates from Russia and Ukraine focused on humanitarian issues like prisoner exchanges and swapping bodies and wounded soldiers.
Kyiv also offered Moscow to hold a meeting between the presidents of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, by the end of August, confirmed Rusten Umerov is the head of the Ukrainian delegation. “Well, the Ukrainian side is always ready for ceasefire discussions and it was actually initiated by the American side after, uh, by President [Donald J.] Trump,” he told reporters.
“This is the third time. And we will always prioritise the ceasefire. At the moment, it is not up to us. I think the world should support Ukraine for a ceasefire. We are ready to do it, it is the Russian side that is not agreeing on it,” Umerov added.
However, the Kremlin counters that both sides remain deeply divided over ceasefire terms, with Western officials accusing Russia of delaying an agreement to make more gains on the battlefields.
Just hours after the ceasefire discussions, both sides launched drone and missile attacks.
Authorities announced that Russian strikes in Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv killed several and injured scores of people, including children.
More Russian strikes
And overnight attacks at Cherkasy, south-east of Kyiv, the capital, reportedly sparked several fires and injured at least seven people.
Authorities said Russia also struck the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa, destroying a nine-storey building and damaging UNESCO-protected historic areas, injuring nearly a dozen civilians. Ukraine retaliated with drone strikes targeting Russian coastal regions.
There were also reports of attacks in numerous other towns and cities.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy noted that Kyiv had offered Moscow a complete ceasefire, “only to see Russia respond with drone attacks on residential areas.”
However, Ukraine retaliated with drone strikes targeting Russian coastal and other areas.
Russia said a Ukrainian drone struck an oil depot in Sirius, near the Russian city of Sochi, where two people were reportedly killed by fallen debris from a drone that had been shot down.
The clashes underscored concern that it is becoming increasingly complex to end a war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
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