The Kremlin said on Saturday that a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would only be possible only after the two parties reach an agreement, one day after Moscow and Kyiv had their first direct talks in more than three years, which has not led to a trial.
In the morning after talks, a Russian drone attack on a minibus carrying civilians evacuated to the East Sumy region killed nine people and injured five, local authorities announced.
“Yesterday, like any day of this war, there was an opportunity to stop,” said Zelensky on social networks after the attack, adding that “Russia only retains the opportunity to continue to kill”.
He reiterated his appeal to the allies of Ukraine to intensify the sanctions against Moscow.
“Without stronger sanctions, without stronger pressure on Russia, there will be no real diplomacy there,” said the Ukrainian president.
The first direct talks since the spring of 2022 – shortly after the large -scale invasion of Moscow, in February – between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul led to a concrete agreement to exchange 1,000 prisoners each.
The best negotiator of Ukraine, the Minister of Defense, Rustem Umerov, said that the “next step” would be a meeting between Zelensky and Putin.
Russia said it had taken note of the request.
“We consider this possible, but only as a result of the work and after having obtained certain results in the form of an agreement between the two parties,” said the Kremlin spokesperson.
The best negotiator in Russia, Vladimir Medinsky said that Moscow and kyiv “would present their vision of a possible ceasefire”, without saying when.
The Kremlin said that the exchange of prisoners of war should first be completed and that the two parties must present their visions for a cease-fire before fixing the next series of talks.
“For the moment, we have to do what the delegations agreed yesterday” in Turkiye, said spokesman Dmitry Peskov, adding that “this, of course, means above all to finish a swap of 1,000 for 1,000”.
Ukraine’s military intelligence chief Kirillo Budanov, TSN was told that he hoped that the exchange would occur next week and that he had seen no obstacle to exchange.
The fighting continues
On Saturday, there were few signs of progress towards the fighting of fighting.
The bus was attacked near the city of Bilopilya, said local community chief Yuri Zarko in Susilne TV. A family of three died in the attack, the authorities said.
Elsewhere on the fronts, the Russian army said that its troops had captured the village of Oleksandropil in the eastern region of Donetsk, where some of the most intense fights of the war take place.
Besides Sumy, Russia has pounded missiles and drones in eastern Ukraine, hitting the regions of Kherson, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia, killing six and injuring more than a dozen. In Kherson, the Russian bombings struck a truck with humanitarian aid on Saturday morning.
Real necessary steps
French president Emmanuel Macron said he was sure that American counterpart Donald Trump would react to Putin’s “cynicism” on Ukraine after the deadly minibus attack.
Putin refused to go to Turkiye for Reunion. Zelensky accused him of being “afraid” and Russia of not taking the talks “seriously”.
“Yesterday in Istanbul, everyone saw a weak and unprepared Russian delegation without significant power. This must change. We need real stages to end the war,” Zelensky said on Saturday.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised Istanbul’s talks during a telephone call with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Saturday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said, adding that Moscow was ready to continue working with the United States in the matter.
On Friday, Zelensky attended a European summit in Albania where he urged a “strong reaction” from the world if the talks in Istanbul have failed, including new sanctions.
Macron said European nations were coordinating with Washington on additional sanctions if Moscow continues to refuse an “unconditional ceasefire”.
Moscow and Washington spoke of the need for a meeting on the conflict between Putin and US President Donald Trump.
Trump argued that “nothing will happen” on the conflict until he meets Putin face to face.
During the talks of Istanbul, the Ukrainian side said that Russia made “unacceptable” territorial requests.
Moscow claims the annexation of five Ukrainian regions – four since its 2022 invasion and Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.
