Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed holding direct negotiations with Ukraine to discuss extending a moratorium on strikes against specific targets.
Russia has noted that Ukraine is attempting to take the initiative on the issue of a ceasefire, seeking an extension or wanting to exclude further targets from being shelled, Putin told Russian journalists. "We need to think about that," he said.
While he expressed scepticism towards Kyiv's proposal to refrain from attacks on civilian facilities, he said he was willing to address such issues in bilateral talks.
Putin stated that bilateral in this case means directly with the Ukrainian side, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later emphasized. So far, negotiations on a possible end to Russia's war in Ukraine have only been conducted indirectly between Moscow and Kyiv, with the United States recently stepping in as a mediator.
Russia has recently carried out attacks on civilian targets, Putin admitted, citing the attack on Sumy, where, according to Ukrainian reports, 35 people were killed, most of them civilians. However, Putin explained that the missile strike was aimed at a gathering of Ukrainian officers who were being honored in the city. Therefore, he asserted that the attack was justified.
At the same time, the 72-year-old gave a positive assessment of the Easter cease-fire for Ukraine that he had announced. "Overall, we are observing a reduction in the enemy's combat activities, that is true," said Putin.
Nevertheless, he claimed that Ukraine had violated the cease-fire he ordered almost 5,000 times.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had previously accused Moscow of around 3,000 violations.
