Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on the 3rd (local time) that he would seek negotiations directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“[Direct conversation with Putin]is the only way to stop the war,” Zelensky said at a press conference on the same day, AFP reported.
It also appealed for additional military assistance to the West.
He added, “If you can’t block the sky, get an airplane,” he added. “If Ukraine goes over, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia will be the next targets.”
In Belarus, a second armistice is currently being negotiated between Ukraine and Russian government delegations.
The Ukrainian side said that in addition to the existing goal of an ‘immediate ceasefire’, securing an escape route for civilians at the forefront is the agenda for the negotiations.
As the southern city of Kherson fell the day before, and fierce battles continued in the second city of Kharkiv and the southeast of Melitopol, news came that the Russian army was preventing civilians from escaping.
However, the Russian side is aiming for the demilitarization of Ukraine as a negotiating goal, but just before the start of the negotiations on the same day, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that “even if a peace agreement is reached, the demilitarization of Ukraine will be completed.”
(Seoul = News 1)
