Russia and Ukraine exchanged attacks on Monday, amid speculation about the possibility of a ceasefire or direct talks between the leaders of the two countries, while diplomatic efforts to bridge the rift between the two countries are intensified.
The Ukrainian General Staff in Kiev said that yesterday, Ukraine was subjected to a total of 133 Russian attacks, 50 of which were repelled near the city of Boukrovsk in the east of Donetsk.
He also reported 45 Russian air strikes and a large number of attacks using suicide march aircraft in different areas, but these numbers could not be independently verified.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that the regions of Odessa, Meclav, Donetsk and Gitomere were among the areas targeted by Russian attacks.
In Russia, the alarm sirens fired in the southern Rostov region, according to local ruler Yuri Slausar, who stated via Telegram that a night attack had been repelled with drones without any injuries or damage to the ground.
Intensive efforts
Ukraine has resisted the “Russian invasion” for more than 3 years with the support of the West. In the recent period, Washington has intensified its efforts to mediate a permanent ceasefire between the two sides.
The US President’s envoy to the Middle East, Steve Wittouf, told the American “Prosta” website that he believed that the Russians want a peaceful settlement and both parties are trying to understand what this settlement means.
Wittakov expressed his hope to hold a peace summit that brought Ukrainian President Voludmir Zellinski and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, soon.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump said that there is a possibility that he would travel to Türkiye to attend possible talks between Zelinski and Putin.
Zelinski welcomed the possibility of Trump’s involvement, calling for a comprehensive ceasefire, and expressing his support for direct negotiations with Putin in Istanbul on Thursday.
“Unfortunately, the world has not yet received a clear response from Russia to many of the ceasefire proposals. Russian bombing and attacks are continuing,” Zellinski said in his night speech.
He added: “Sooner or later, Russia will have to end this war, and the faster, the better.”
A proposal and discussions
For its part, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan spoke on Monday to discuss President Putin’s proposal to hold Russian Ukrainian talks directly this week in Türkiye.
The ministry stated in a statement that they discussed “issues related to the initiative of Russian President Vladimir Putin to start direct talks regarding the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis on May 15 in Istanbul.”
A Turkish diplomatic source said earlier that the two ministers spoke, but had not touched on details.
Putin’s proposal came at the beginning of the week after the meeting of leaders and Robbians in Kiev, in which they urged Russia to agree to the ceasefire 30 days by Monday, otherwise it will face new sanctions.
European talks
In continuous political developments, the US State Department said on Monday that Minister Marco Rubio discussed “ways to move towards a ceasefire” in Ukraine with European counterparts, including Britain’s foreign ministers, France and foreign policy official in the European Union.
A statement indicated that Ukraine Foreign Minister André Sibha, his German and Polish counterpart also participated in the discussions.
This comes while the Italian government announced yesterday evening that Defense Minister Guido Cruzeito will host in Rome on Friday its counterparts from 4 other European countries with a great military weight, namely Germany, France, Poland and Britain, to discuss with them in coordinating support for Ukraine and other defense affairs.
The Italian Ministry of Defense said in a statement that Cruzeito will discuss with its counterparts, in addition to the Ukrainian file, ways to strengthen European defense.