Latest news with #peaceTalks
CTV News
3 hours ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Russian drones slam into 2 Ukrainian cities, killing at least 1 person in nighttime attack
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy lays flowers at the site of Russia's Tuesday deadly missile attack that ruined a multistory residential building in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP) KYIV, Ukraine — Russian drones slammed into two Ukrainian cities, killing at least one person in nighttime attacks, authorities said Friday, as a Kremlin official said he expected an announcement next week on dates for a fresh round of direct peace talks. Russia's overnight drone assault targeted the southern Ukraine port city of Odesa and the northeastern city of Kharkiv, hitting apartment blocks, officials said. The barrage of more than 20 drones injured almost two dozen civilians, including girls aged 17 and 12, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. 'Russia continues its tactics of targeted terror against our people,' Zelenskyy said on messaging app Telegram, urging the United States and the European Union to crank up economic pressure on Russia. Russia has shown no signs of relenting in its attacks, more than three years after it invaded its neighbor. It is pressing a summer offensive on parts of the roughly 1,000-kilometre (620-mile) front line and has kept up long-range strikes that have hit civilian areas. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that the date for the next round peace talks is expected to be agreed upon next week. Kyiv officials have not recently spoken about resuming talks with Russia, last held when delegations met in Istanbul on June 2, though Ukraine continues to offer a ceasefire and support U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting. The two rounds of brief talks yielded only agreements on the exchange of prisoners and wounded soldiers. A fire caused by Russia's nighttime strike on Odesa engulfed a four-story residential building, which partly collapsed and injured three emergency workers. A separate fire spread across the upper floors of a 23-storey high-rise, leading to the evacuation of around 600 residents. In Kharkiv, at least eight drones hit civilian infrastructure, injuring four people, including two children, according to Ukraine's Emergency Service. Russia launched 80 Shahed and decoy drones overnight, Ukraine's air force said, claiming that air defenses shot down or jammed 70 of them. ___ Illia Novikov, The Associated Press
Al Arabiya
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Russia says completed another POW exchange with Ukraine
Russia and Ukraine exchanged more captured soldiers on Friday, Moscow said, the latest in a series of prisoner swaps agreed at peace talks in Istanbul earlier this month.
Russia Today
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
Hungary offers to host Ukraine peace talks
Hungary's offer to host peace talks aimed at ending the Ukraine conflict remains valid, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Thursday. Hungary has maintained a dissenting position within the EU since the conflict escalated in February 2022, advocating for dialogue while most other member states have pledged only to continue military support to Kiev. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Szijjarto reaffirmed Budapest's commitment to a peaceful resolution and said Hungary is prepared to host negotiations. He said he communicated the proposal to senior Russian and Ukrainian officials days after the outbreak of the hostilities, adding, 'This offer is there, is valid, we have not withdrawn that.' Hungary would be willing to organize a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump if such a meeting were requested, Szijjarto claimed. He praised the recent improvement in relations between Moscow and Washington, following the change in the US administration. 'Our clear historic experience is that whenever the US and Russia are able to maintain a civilized relationship, it's always better for Central Europe,' he said. Trump has declined to continue US military aid to Ukraine and has suggested that both Washington and Moscow could benefit from restoring bilateral ties. His efforts to mediate a truce between Russia and Ukraine contributed to the countries restarting direct negotiations in Türkiye, talks that Kiev abandoned in 2022 to focus on its military campaign. Szijjarto noted that European nations that once called for Ukraine's victory are now urging an unconditional ceasefire. He said that many of those countries previously criticized Budapest for promoting diplomacy, arguing that the shift highlights their loss of credibility. At a recent round of talks in Istanbul, Russia proposed two options for a conditional ceasefire, asserting that either would prevent Ukraine from regrouping and resuming hostilities, unlike an unconditional truce. The proposals involved either a Ukrainian withdrawal from territories claimed by Russia or a halt to military mobilization and Western arms deliveries. Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky has rejected both and demanded direct talks with Putin. The Russian president said this week that he is open to such a meeting to finalize a peace agreement, but cautioned that Zelensky is not legally authorized to sign any treaty. Zelensky's presidential term expired last year and no successor has been elected, raising Moscow's concerns about any agreement the Ukrainian politician might sign.
Al Arabiya
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Russian drones slam into two Ukrainian cities, killing at least one person in nighttime attack
Russian drones slammed into two Ukrainian cities, killing at least one person in nighttime attacks authorities said Friday, as a Kremlin official said he expected an announcement next week on dates for a fresh round of direct peace talks. Russia's overnight drone assault targeted the southern Ukraine port city of Odesa and the northeastern city of Kharkiv, hitting apartment blocks, officials said. The barrage of more than 20 drones injured almost two dozen civilians, including girls aged 17 and 12, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. 'Russia continues its tactics of targeted terror against our people,' Zelenskyy said on messaging app Telegram, urging the US and the European Union to crank up economic pressure on Russia. Russia has shown no signs of relenting in its attacks more than three years after it invaded its neighbor. It is pressing a summer offensive on parts of the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line and has kept up long-range strikes that have hit civilian areas. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that the date for the next round of peace talks is expected to be agreed upon next week. Kyiv officials have not recently spoken about resuming talks with Russia, last held when delegations met in Istanbul on June 2, though Ukraine continues to offer a cease-fire and support US-led diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting. The two rounds of brief talks yielded only agreements on the exchange of prisoners and wounded soldiers. A fire caused by Russia's nighttime strike on Odesa engulfed a four-story residential building, which partly collapsed and injured three emergency workers. A separate fire spread across the upper floors of a 23-story high-rise, leading to the evacuation of around 600 residents. In Kharkiv, at least eight drones hit civilian infrastructure, injuring four people, including two children, according to Ukraine's Emergency Service. Russia launched 80 Shahed and decoy drones overnight, Ukraine's air force said, claiming that air defenses shot down or jammed 70 percent of them.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russia says it expects agreement next week on date for next peace talks with Ukraine
ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) -Russia expects to agree with Ukraine next week on a date for a third round of peace talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday. Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky, who heads the Russian delegation, is in contact with his Ukrainian counterpart, Peskov said. Resuming negotiations after a gap of more than three years, the two sides held face-to-face talks in Istanbul on May 16 and June 2 that led to a series of prisoner exchanges and the return of the bodies of dead soldiers. But they have made no progress towards a ceasefire which Ukraine, with Western backing, has been pressing for. Russia says it wants a final settlement, not just a pause in the fighting, and is insisting on territorial and other demands that Ukraine says would be tantamount to capitulation. The conflict has intensified in recent weeks, with Russia carrying out some of its heaviest air attacks of the war and Ukraine mounting surprise drone strikes on airfields on June 1 that inflicted serious damage on Russia's nuclear-capable bomber fleet.
