Vladimir Putin signalled he was open to talks with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time since the early stages of the war, but Russian strikes continued hours after his comments.
Speaking to Russian state TV on Monday, Putin said Russia had “always looked positively on any peace initiatives. We hope that representatives of the Kyiv regime will feel the same way”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin’s comments indicated a willingness to engage in direct talks with Ukraine about not striking civilian targets.
However, Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities continued on Tuesday with a wave of strikes across the country.
A strike on an apartment block in Zaporizhzhia killed one woman and injured 20 others, including four children.
In Kharkiv in the country’s east, authorities said a massive drone attack on Tuesday during the daytime injured at least seven people.
President Zelensky said on Tuesday afternoon there had also been strikes on Odesa, Sumy, Donetsk and other southern regions, while Ukrainian media also reported a strike in south-east Kherson.
The Monday night strike on Odesa had targeted a five-storey unit block and injured three people, local media reported. President Zelensky described the wave of attacks as “deliberate Russian terror” which could be “stopped by a single order”.
Credit: bbc.com
