Russia link said it would scale downfighting around two Ukrainian cities following talkslink with Ukrainelink on Tuesday and raised the possibilityof a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents.
The outcome of the face-to-face talks linka palace in Istanbul raised hopes linkmore than a month of conflict that has left thousands dead and forcedmillions from their homes.
But London and Washington immediately cast doubt on Russialink words and, on the ground, Ukrainelink said seven people were killed by aRussian strike on a government building in the city of Mykolaiv.
Following the talks link, Ukrainiannegotiator David Arakhamia said there were “sufficient” conditions forUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putinto meet.
Arakhamia also called for “an international mechanism of securityguarantees where guarantor countries will act in a similar way to NATO’sarticle number five — and even more firmly”.
Russian Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin said there had beenprogress in talks link on “the neutralityand non-nuclear status of Ukraine link”.
Therefore, “a decision has been made to radically, by several times reducethe military activity” around the capital Kyiv and the city of Chernigiv,he said.
Chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said there had been a “meaningfuldiscussion”.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken responded saying he doubted Russialink “seriousness”.
“There is what Russia link says and thereis what Russia link does. We’re focussed onthe latter,” he said, speaking at a press conference in Morocco.
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“What Russia link is doing is the continuedbrutalisation of Ukraine link and itspeople, and that continues as we speak.”
A spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “We will judgePutin and his regime by his actions and not by his words”.SEVEN KILLED IN MYKOLAIV STRIKE
Following the announcements on Tuesday, European stock markets lifted andoil prices fell by five percent as supply fears eased, while the rublesurged 10 percent against the dollar.
Just hours earlier, Ukraine link saidseven people were killed in a Russian strike against the regionalgovernment headquarters in Mykolaiv, adding to a toll estimated by Zelenskyat 20,000 so far.
“I was having breakfast in my apartment,” Donald, 69, a retired Canadianpostal worker with Ukrainian residency told AFP. “I heard a whoosh, then aboom and my windows rattled.”
Another local resident, Viktor Gaivonenko, who was helping clean up thedebris, said: “Putin is a bastard. That’s all there is to it”.
Ukrainian forces have pushed back Russian forces from around the city inrecent days and have recaptured territory in other parts of the country,including in the suburban town of Irpin outside Kyiv — an importantgateway to the capital.
Ukraine link has also resumed evacuationsfrom areas in the south of the country occupied by Russian forces. -APP/AFP
