Ukraine ready to talk about ceasefire, peace after Russia proposes Minsk talks

Ukraine is ready to talk about ceasefire and peace, a spokesperson of President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday night, as per CNN. The statement comes hours after the Kremlin said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to send a delegation to Belarus’ Minsk for talks with Kyiv. 

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Meanwhile, Russian forces close in on Ukrainian capital Kyiv. Loud explosions were heard in the west and south of the city early Saturday morning, CNN reported. 

“Ukraine has been and remains ready to talk about a ceasefire and peace. This is our constant position,” said President Volodymyr Zelensky’s spokesperson Sergii Nykyforov. 

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Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had said the Ukrainian side had countered with a proposal to meet in Warsaw before dropping contact. Nykyforov denied the claim ‘Ukraine has refused to negotiate’. 

“We agreed to the proposal of the President of the Russian Federation. Currently, during these hours, the parties [are discussing] the place and time of the negotiation process. The sooner negotiations begin, the better the chances of resuming normal life,” Zelensky’s spokesperson added. 

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The Ukranian President issued a warning late Friday night saying Russia will try to ‘use all available forces to break the resistance of Ukrainians’.  

Zelensky confirmed that hundreds of Russian soldiers were killed since Moscow launched a full-scale attack on Thursday.  

“Our main goal is to finish this slaughter. The enemy losses are very grave — today there were hundreds of killed soldiers who crossed our border and came on our land,” he said.