The sides agreed on a large-scale swap of captured soldiers and exchanged their roadmaps to peace, or so-called “memorandums”, at the discussions, which lasted less than two hours.
“The settlement issue is extremely complex and involves a large number of nuances,“ Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday.
Moscow demanded Ukraine pull its troops out of four eastern and southern regions that Moscow claims to have annexed as a precondition to pausing its offensive, according to the document handed to the Ukrainians that was published by Russian state media.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha on Tuesday denounced Russia for presenting “old ultimatums that do not move the situation any closer to true peace” and for having “so far rejected any meaningful formats for a ceasefire”.
“In the near future, it is unlikely,“ Peskov told reporters when asked about the chances of the leaders meeting, adding that such a summit could only happen after Russian and Ukrainian negotiators reach an “agreement”.
Targeting civilians
Russian troops have accelerated their advance, seeking to establish what Putin called a “buffer zone” inside Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region.
The attack “says everything one needs to know about Russia’s so-called ‘desire’ to end this war”, he added, calling for “decisive actions” from the United States and Europe to push Russia into a ceasefire.
A seven-year-old girl was among 20 wounded, with doctors “fighting for her life”, Sumy’s Acting Mayor Artem Kobzar said.
Moscow’s army said it had captured the village of Andriivka in the Sumy region, located around five kilometres (three miles) from the Russian border.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s SBU security service claimed it had hit a pillar of the Crimean bridge linking the annexed peninsula to Russia with an underwater explosive device.
A delegation of top Ukrainian officials also landed in Washington for talks with US officials on defence and economic issues, including the possibility of new sanctions, Zelensky’s office said.
“I emphasized that Russia is stalling and manipulating the negotiation process in an attempt to avoid American sanctions, and has no genuine intention of ceasing hostilities,“ Yermak wrote on social media.
Meanwhile, Russia’s top security official Sergei Shoigu was in Pyongyang on Wednesday for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Trump, who said he could end the conflict swiftly when he returned to the White House in January, has repeatedly expressed anger at both Putin and Zelensky as the fighting drags through its fourth year with no end in sight.
But he has held off from imposing new economic penalties on Moscow.
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