Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed openness to the idea of peace talks concerning Ukraine. While meeting with African leaders in St. Petersburg, he acknowledged that African and Chinese initiatives could serve as a foundation for finding a path to peace. However, he also emphasized that a ceasefire would not be feasible as long as the Ukrainian army remained on the offensive.
Shortly after Putin’s statement, Russia reported that a Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow had caused damage to two office buildings. Flights from Vnukovo Airport were briefly suspended, and one person was injured in the incident.
Meanwhile, in Ukraine, the city of Sumy in the northeast was hit by rockets, leading to one person’s death and five others being injured. The country’s interior ministry stated that a Russian missile struck an educational establishment during the attack.
Both Ukraine and Russia have previously insisted on certain preconditions before engaging in peace talks. Kyiv is determined not to concede any territory, while Moscow demands that Kyiv accept the “new territorial reality” created by Russia’s invasion and occupation of parts of Ukraine.
President Putin asserted during the press conference that there were no immediate plans to escalate actions on the Ukrainian front. He also defended the arrest of critical voices, claiming that some individuals were causing harm to Russia from within.
In addition, Putin mentioned that Moscow had carried out “preventive strikes” following an explosion on a Crimean bridge, which he referred to as a “terrorist” act by Ukraine. Although Kyiv did not officially claim responsibility for the bridge incident, tensions between the two countries have remained high.
The Russia-Africa summit follows a previous meeting between an African delegation and President Zelensky of Ukraine, as well as Putin, last month. President Zelensky has been visiting Ukrainian special forces near Bakhmut, a city witnessing intense fighting during the war. Ukrainian authorities stated that Kyiv’s troops were making gradual progress in the region, which Russian forces had seized earlier.
In a separate incident, two individuals were killed, and another was injured in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia after a missile hit an open area. The blast wave caused by the “enemy missile” caused damage to apartments, an educational institution, and a supermarket, according to Anatoliy Kurtiev, secretary of the city council.