Ukraine war: Moscow dismisses reports of 'major progress' in talks with Kyiv

Peskov further said Ukraine seemed to be "in no rush", while Russian negotiators were ready to work around the clock.

The Kremlin on Thursday dismissed reports of “major progress” in ongoing talks with Ukraine to end the war that was now in its fourth week. Moscow blamed Kyiv for slowing the negotiations. The fresh round of talks between representatives of the two warring nations that began on Monday, after multiple failed attempts, will continue on Thursday.

People clear debris outside a medical center damaged after parts of a Russian missile, shot down by Ukrainian air defense, landed on a nearby apartment block, according to authorities, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday. (AP)

“On the whole, that’s wrong,” Bloomberg quoted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying when asked about a Financial Times report that said the two sides had made major progress towards a deal. The FT account did include “some correct elements,” he said, without elaborating. “When there’s progress, we’ll tell you.”

Peskov further said Ukraine seemed to be "in no rush", while Russian negotiators were ready to work around the clock.

The Kremlin spokesperson called US President Joe Biden's claim that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin was a war criminal “unacceptable”, adding that the United States had no right to lecture Moscow after its involvement in so many conflicts.

This came amid relentless bombing of Ukrainian cities by Russian forces despite global pressure and crippling sanctions from the West.

Authorities in the besieged port city of Mariupol said Russia bombed a theatre where "hundreds" of civilians were taking shelter. While Moscow has denied striking the theatre, reports said women and children had taken refuge there. According to a photo shared by the authorities, the middle part of the building looked destroyed, while any report on the toll was yet to surface.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Germany to take the lead in efforts to end the war in a video address to lawmakers in Berlin. Zelenskyy called on Germany to help destroy a new "wall" Russia was erecting in Europe. "It's not a Berlin Wall -- it is a Wall in central Europe between freedom and bondage and this Wall is growing bigger with every bomb" dropped on Ukraine,” Zelenskyy told the German MPs.

(With inputs from agencies)