The lecture approaches as Russia launches a drone attack on Ukraine’s Zaporidian city, killing three people.
The US will meet separate delegations from Russia and Ukraine in Saudi Arabia in a continuous bid to halt the three-year war, and Russia launched a drone attack in Ukraine’s Zapoljazia city on Friday night, killing three people and injuring 12 people, Ukrainian officials said.
Police said the city was attacked by 12 drones. Regional Governor Ivan Fedorov said residential buildings, cars and communal buildings had been on fire. Photos from the scene showed emergency services scrutinizing the tile rub for survivors.
Ukraine and Russia have agreed in principle to a limited ceasefire after President Donald Trump made consecutive separate calls with country leaders this week, but the actual target remains unlimited for attacks.
The three aspects seemed to hold a completely different view on what a limited ceasefire was covered. The White House said “energy and infrastructure” would become part of the contract, but the Kremlin declared the agreement narrower and refers to “energy infrastructure.” Ukrainian President Voldimir Zelensky said he wanted to protect the railways and ports.
Zaporizhzhia’s deaths included three members of one family. The bodies of the daughter and father were pulled from under the tile rub, but the doctor fought for the mother’s life for over 10 hours, Fedorov wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia had fired 179 drones and decoys in the latest wave of attacks up to Saturday. It said 100 had been intercepted, and another 63 had been lost, possibly clogged electronically.
Local officials in Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk reported that the fire had been caused due to the fall of debris from the intercepted drone.
Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense said the air defense system had fired down 47 Ukrainian drones. Russian officials also said they reserved the right to a “symmetrical response” as Moscow reserved the right to a “symmetrical response” and accused each other of blowing up Russian gas pump stations in the border area where Ukrainian forces are retreating on Friday.
“As in 2022, provocations are being used again with the aim of disrupting the negotiation process. It clearly warns that the Russian Federation will reserve the right to respond, including symmetrical responses, if the Kiev regime continues its destructive line,” the ministry said.
Zelenskyy told reporters that Ukrainian and US negotiators will discuss technical details related to the partial ceasefire at Monday’s meeting in Saudi Arabia after a call with Trump on Wednesday. Also, Russian negotiators should hold separate consultations with US officials there.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine was open to the 30-day ceasefire proposed by Trump, and “we are not opposed to steps towards an unconditional ceasefire in any form.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin held a complete ceasefire, conditional on the halt of arms supplies to Kiev and the halt of Ukraine’s military mobilization.
“We want to achieve at least some progress,” Russian Senator Grigory Karasin, who leads the Russian delegation, told the Zvezda TV channel without specifying any issues.
He said he and his fellow negotiator, Sergei Beseda, an advisor to the Federal Security Agency (FSB), will incorporate a “military and constructive” mood into the negotiations.
A senior Ukrainian official told AFP a day ago that Kiev wanted to secure “at least” an agreement on a partial ceasefire covering attacks at energy, infrastructure and seas.
“We have the feeling of fighting to resolve at least one problem,” Karasin told Zvezda, owned by the Russian Ministry of Defense. He said his delegation will depart for Saudi Arabia on Sunday and return on Tuesday.
As Karasin and Betheda are outside traditional diplomatic decision-making bodies like the Kremlin, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense, Russia’s choice of negotiators for negotiations has raised doubts.
Karasin is a career diplomat and currently sits in the Russian parliamentary Senate, while Veneda is a longtime FSB officer and is now an advisor to the director of services.
The 2014 FSB confirmed that Veneda was in Kiev with a bloody bullet in the Ukrainian capital.
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