- Vladimir Putin proposes a bilateral dialogue with Kyiv.
- The battle resumed after the 30-hour ceasefire.
- Russia and Ukraine alleged breach of truce.
Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin, who showed pressure to build peace in Ukraine under pressure from Washington, spoke with Kyiv for the first time in years on Monday and said he was willing to cease fire to more after a one-day Easter battle.
Putin said the fight resumed after his surprised 30-hour ceasefire, which he announced unilaterally on Saturday. Both sides accused each other of violating Putin’s truce, and from the very beginning, Kiev was seen as a stunt.
Washington said it would welcome the extension of the truce. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for it to be extended to a 30-day ceasefire to protect civilian targets.
U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to quickly end the three-year-old war, and his policies repositioned from firm support for Ukraine to embrace Russian narratives of the war, but Moscow has won few concessions so far.
Russia last month rejected a Trump proposal asking Ukraine to accept a full 30-day ceasefire. U.S. officials held parallel talks with both sides in Saudi Arabia, but they only agreed to limit the suspension of attacks on energy targets, and they alleged violations from each other.
Speaking to Russian state television reporters, Putin said Moscow is open to any peace initiative and expects the same to be true for Kiev.
“We are always positive about the truce, which is why we make such an initiative, especially because we are talking about the Easter era of light,” Putin said.
Asked about Zelenskiy’s proposed 30-day civilian target armistice, he said: “It’s all a topic of careful learning, even bilateral. We don’t rule it out.”
His spokesman Dmitry Peskov later confirmed that Putin was referring to the possibility of direct negotiations with Ukraine. Neither such negotiation has been held since the failure of peace efforts in the early stages of the war three years ago.
“When the president said it was possible to discuss issues that would not combat civilian targets, including both sides, the president considered negotiations and discussions with Ukraine,” Peskov said.
Kyiv did not respond immediately to Putin’s speech. A spokeswoman for President Volodymyr Zelenskiy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Air strike
Zelenskiy said earlier on Monday that his troops were instructed to continue reflecting the actions of the Russian army.
He said on social network X: “The nature of Ukrainian action will remain symmetrical: a ceasefire will meet a ceasefire, and a Russian strike will meet our own defense. Action will always be greater than words.”
Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Friday that Washington could completely get rid of Ukraine’s peace talks if both sides do not make greater progress within a few days.
Russia has not withdrawn from any of its main demands, including the land that Ukraine ceded by Putin’s own land that claimed to have annexed and accepted permanent neutrality. Ukraine said that if Moscow attacks again, it would constitute surrender and make it undefensive.
Asked about Trump’s remarks that it would soon be possible to reach a peace deal, Peskov said on a daily call with reporters: “I don’t want to make any comments right now, especially about the timeline.
“President Putin and the Russian side are still seeking a peaceful solution. We will continue to work with the US side and of course, we hope this work will be fruitful.”
Zelenskiy said earlier on Monday that despite no air strike alerts from Ukraine on Sunday, Ukrainian forces reported nearly 3,000 violations of Russian ceasefires, with the heaviest attacks and shellings seen along the frontline.
Russia’s defense ministry said on Sunday that Ukrainian troops shot 444 with 444 and said more than 900 Ukrainian drone attacks had been counted, and said death and injury were reported in the civilian population.
