Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to Moscow on Saturday, saying it was “time” to discuss “peace and security” otherwise the consequences for Russia will be felt over several generations.
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“Peace and security negotiations for Ukraine are Russia’s only chance to minimize the damage caused by its own mistakes,” Zelensky said in a video posted to Facebook, filmed in a street at night. deserted.
“It is time to come together. It’s time to discuss. It is time to restore territorial integrity and justice for Ukraine”, pleaded the Head of State.
“Otherwise, he warned, the losses for Russia will be such that it will take several generations to recover from them”.
Several rounds of negotiations between kyiv and Moscow have taken place face-to-face and by videoconference since the Russian invasion of Ukraine launched on February 24. The latest, the fourth, opened on Monday at the level of delegations negotiating remotely.
The head of the Russian delegation announced at the start of the evening on Friday that he had noted a “rapproximation” of positions on the question of a neutral status for Ukraine – like Sweden and Austria – and progress on that of the demilitarization of the country.
“The subject of Ukraine’s neutrality status and its non-membership of NATO is one of the key points of the negotiations, it is the point on which the parties have brought their positions as close as possible”, said said Vladimir Medinsky, quoted by Russian agencies.
However, he noted “nuances” regarding the “security guarantees” demanded by Ukraine.
But one of the members of the Ukrainian delegation, the adviser to the presidency Mikhaïlo Podoliak indicated on Twitter that the “statements of the Russian side are only their requests for departure”.
“Our position has not changed: ceasefire, withdrawal of (Russian) troops and strong security guarantees with concrete formulas,” he wrote.
Ukraine said on Wednesday that “deep contradictions” persisted in the Russian-Ukrainian talks, but that a “compromise” was still possible.
Russian bombardments of Ukrainian cities continued during these negotiations, targeting numerous civilian infrastructures.
Regarding the besieged city of Mariupol, where a theater — in which more than a thousand people had taken refuge — was shelled by Russian forces on Wednesday, Mr. Zelensky said that more than 130 survivors were able to be pulled out of the rubble.
“Some unfortunately suffer from serious injuries. But, at this stage, we do not have information on the number of possible deaths, he indicated, specifying that “relief operations are continuing”.
According to him, thanks to the humanitarian corridors set up in the country, more than 180,000 Ukrainians have been able to get away from the fighting, including more than 9,000 people from Mariupol.
“But the occupiers continue to block humanitarian aid, especially around sensitive areas. It’s a well-known tactic. (…) It is a war crime”, launched Mr. Zelensky. Russia “will answer for this. 100%,” he insisted.
Since February 24, more than 3.2 million Ukrainians have taken the road to exile, nearly two-thirds of them to Poland, sometimes only a stage before continuing their exodus.
Humanitarian needs are ‘increasingly urgent’, with more than 200,000 people without water in the Donetsk region alone and ‘severe shortages’ of food, water and medicine in cities like Mariupol or Sumy, High Commissioner for Refugees spokesman Matthew Saltmarsh said Friday.
