The Kremlin on Tuesday warned against rushing Ukraine peace talks, pushing back against U.S. President Donald Trump's hopes for a speedy deal just a day before Ukraine's allies are set to meet in London.
Trump, who promised during his campaign to broker a deal between Moscow and Kyiv within 24 hours, has, after three months, failed to extract any concessions from Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt his invasion.
Over the weekend, the Republican expressed hope that a peace deal could be struck "this week," despite no signs that the two sides are anywhere close to agreeing on even a ceasefire, let alone a broader long-term settlement.
Moscow's forces occupy roughly a fifth of Ukrainian territory, and tens of thousands have been killed since they invaded in February 2022.
"This topic is so complex, tied to a settlement, that, of course, it's probably not worth setting any rigid time frames or trying to secure a viable settlement in a short time frame," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state TV on Tuesday.
After rejecting a U.S.-Ukrainian offer for a full and unconditional ceasefire last month, Putin announced a surprise Easter truce over the weekend.
Fighting decreased during the 30-hour period, but Russian forces launched fresh attacks on residential areas on Monday and Tuesday, according to Ukrainian officials.
Kyiv and its allies dismissed the truce as a public relations stunt by Putin.
"The Easter truce he announced somewhat unexpectedly was a marketing operation, a charm offensive aimed at preventing President Trump from becoming impatient and angry," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told FranceInfo.
London Meeting
Ukraine's allies will meet in London on Wednesday, a senior Kyiv official told AFP, where they are expected to continue discussions on the contours of a possible deal they could all support.
European leaders are scrambling to find ways to support Ukraine should Trump withdraw Washington's vital military and financial backing.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his team's "first priority" at the London talks would be the idea of "an unconditional ceasefire."
Zelensky proposed to Russia on Sunday halting missile and drone strikes against civilian facilities for at least 30 days.
While saying he would "analyze" the idea, Putin cast doubt on it 24 hours later by accusing Kyiv of using civilian facilities for military purposes.
He left open the possibility of bilateral talks on the matter, though the Kremlin stated there were no fixed plans to engage with Kyiv.
"There are no concrete plans (to talk), but there is readiness from Putin to discuss this issue," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday.
"If we are talking about civilian infrastructure, then we need to understand when it is civilian infrastructure and when it becomes a military target," he added.
Russian Attacks
The talks in London — a follow-up to a meeting in Paris last week — come after Russia resumed its aerial attacks.
On Tuesday, Russia struck the southern city of Zaporizhzhia with "two guided aerial bombs," killing one person and wounding 23, according to the regional head.
Photos from Ukraine's emergency services showed the outer walls of an apartment block blown open, and a bloodied man being tended to by medics on a stretcher, with bandages around his head and arms.
"One guided aerial bomb hit an infrastructure facility, while the other hit a densely populated neighborhood, directly striking a residential building," Zaporizhzhia Governor Ivan Fedorov said on Telegram.
Russian strikes also wounded another six people in the southern city of Kherson and seven in Kharkiv in the northeast.
The Russian military claimed to have captured a small village in the eastern Donetsk region, where its troops are advancing.
In Paris last week, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio presented Washington's plan for ending the war, before both he and Trump warned that Washington's patience was running thin and that it could lead to a withdrawal of support.
Many in Ukraine fear that any settlement brokered by Trump could reward Russian aggression.
By Stanislav DOSHCHITSYN/AFP
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