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Russia to reduce ops in Ukraine's Kyiv; Putin-Zelenskyy meet 'possible' | Top updates
Head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, said that Russia is no longer opposed to Ukraine joining the European Union. He added that it was one of the proposals made by the Kyiv delegation during talks in Turkish city of Istanbul on Tuesday.
The 34th day of the Russia-Ukraine war witnessed what could be seen as a major breakthrough after talks between the delegations of the two countries settled with Moscow agreeing to “radically” cut down military activities in Kyiv and Chernihiv - located in northern Ukraine. Russia hailed the talks as “meaningful” after several rounds in the past failed to yield any fruitful result. However, Moscow stressed that de-escalation does not mean ceasefire - which the Ukraine negotiators had been pinning on in every round of peace talks so far.
Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation told TASS news agency in an interview that Moscow aspires to “gradually reach a de-escalation of the conflict at least on these fronts (Kyiv and Chernihiv)”.
Moreover, Russia has also shown hopes of an in-person meeting between their President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy following the completion of the talks in Istanbul, Turkey. On Monday, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov had shut down any hopes of the same, calling it “counterproductive” and saying that it could be possible only after key issues of a potential negotiation deal are resolved.
On these two developments, Medinsky said that to prepare an agreement on a mutually acceptable manner, there is still a “long way to go”.
Here are some of the other top updates of the Russia-Ukraine war that happened throughout the day:
- Earlier in the day, a nine-storey government building in Ukraine's southern port city Mykolaiv was hit by Russian airstrike, killing seven people and injuring 22 others. Initially, at least two people were reported to have been killed and later their bodies were pulled out of debris. However, during his address to Danish lawmakers, Zelenskky said the toll has risen to seven, even as search for more in the rubble continues.
- Separatist Donetsk People's Republic, located in eastern Ukraine, said it may consider joining Russia once it controls all of Donetsk region, its news outley reported quoting separatist leader Denis Pushilin.
- Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron spoke over the phone on Tuesday during when the Russian leader said Ukrainian “nationalists” in besieged city of Mariupol must lay down arms. Kremlin said the two leaders discussed the outcome of the Moscow-Kyiv talks, and also the measures taken by Russian military to provide humanitarian assistance and ensure safe evacuation of civilians in Ukraine.
- US President Joe Biden, who recently landed in hot soup after his “butcher” and “cannot remain in power” remark on Putin, spoke over the phone for around an hour with leaders of the West. These include Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Biden reportedly consulted the leaders on a potential new $500 million aid package to help Ukraine in its struggle amid Russian invasion.
- Medinsky said that Russia is no longer opposed to Ukraine joining the European Union (EU) after the latter proposed the same during the talks between Moscow and Kyiv. Furthermore, Ukraine negotiators called for an international agreement similar to NATO's ‘Article 5’ in which the nation's security will be guaranteed by third countries. Ukraine named Israel and NATO members Poland, Turkey, Canada, and even the US, UK, China, and Russia as well, among others, as those nations.
(With inputs from agencies)
