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Putin willing to negotiate with Zelensky if necessary, but…: Kremlin
The Kremlin announced President Putin is open to negotiations with Ukrainian President Zelensky but questions the latter's legitimacy.
The Kremlin announced on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to talk with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "if necessary."
However, Putin's administration also reiterated their doubts regarding Zelensky's legitimacy as Ukraine's leader. According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Putin is willing to negotiate, but emphasizes the need to establish a clear legal foundation for any agreements, given the questionable legitimacy of Zelensky's presidency.
"Putin himself said that he would be ready to negotiate with Zelensky if necessary but the legal basis of agreements needs discussion considering the reality that Zelensky's legitimacy can be questioned," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
US-Russia talks on peace deal
Earlier on Tuesday, top diplomats from US and Russia met in Saudi Arabia to discuss improving ties and negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine - talks that represented a rapid and major change in American foreign policy under President Donald Trump.
No Ukrainian officials were present at the meeting, which comes as the beleaguered country is slowly but steadily losing ground against more numerous Russian troops in a grinding war that began nearly three years ago. President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country won’t accept any outcome from this week's talks since Kyiv isn't take part. European allies have also expressed concerns they are being sidelined.
War continues
Meanwhile, Russia continued to pummel Ukraine with drones, according to Kyiv's military. The Ukrainian air force said Russian troops launched a barrage of 176 drones at Ukraine overnight, most of which were destroyed or disabled by jamming.
One Russian drone struck a residential building in Dolynska in the Kirovohrad region, wounding a mother and her two children and prompting an evacuation of 38 apartments, the regional administration reported. Four more residential buildings were damaged by drone debris in the Cherkasy region of Ukraine, according to local officials.
