Diplomatic talks progress as Russia conducts a drone strike on Zaporizhzhia, resulting in three fatalities.
Police reported that the city was struck by a barrage of 12 drones, causing residential buildings, vehicles, and public facilities to go up in flames. Images from the site show emergency responders searching amidst the wreckage for survivors.
Following talks mediated by US President Donald Trump, Ukraine and Russia provisionally agreed to a partial ceasefire. However, there is ongoing disagreement over the specifics of what exactly should be exempt from attacks.
The differing perspectives on the extent of the ceasefire among the involved parties have raised questions. The White House stated that the agreement would include “energy and infrastructure”, while the Kremlin interpreted it to apply only to “energy infrastructure”. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed a desire for railways and ports to also be protected.
Among the dead in Zaporizhzhia were members of the same family: a daughter and her father were recovered from the rubble, while medical staff fought to save the mother’s life for in vain over a period of more than 10 hours, as reported by Regional Governor Ivan Fedorov using the Telegram messaging app.
The Ukrainian air force announced that Russia had launched 179 drones and decoys, resulting in 100 being intercepted and 63 likely jammed. Additionally, regions of Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk experienced fires due to falling debris from intercepted drones.
In response, Russia’s Defence Ministry declared that its air defences had shot down 47 Ukrainian drones, and that Moscow reserves the right to a “symmetrical response”, as both sides accused each other of targeting a Russian gas pumping station in a border area where Ukrainian forces have been retreating.
“Provocations, as seen in 2022, are once again being utilized with the intention to hamper the negotiation process. We are issuing a clear warning: if the Kyiv regime persists with its destructive actions, the Russian Federation retains the right to respond, including with a symmetrical response,” the ministry stated.
Zelenskyy articulated to the press following his discussions with Trump that technicalities regarding the partial ceasefire will be discussed by Ukraine and US negotiators during the upcoming Saudi Arabia meeting. Russian representatives are also set to engage in separate talks.
Zelenskyy affirmed Ukraine’s willingness to endorse Trump’s proposed full 30-day ceasefire, stating: “We will oppose no format, no measures toward an unconditional ceasefire.”
Conversely, Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a complete ceasefire contingent upon halting weapon supplies to Kyiv and a suspension of Ukraine’s military recruitment—conditions rejected by Ukraine and Western allies.
“We hope to achieve at least some progress,” declared Russian Senator Grigory Karasin, the head of the Russian delegation, without specifying which particular issue.
Karasin and fellow negotiator Sergey Beseda, an adviser to the Federal Security Service (FSB) director, will approach the negotiations with “combativeness and constructiveness,” as per Karasin’s statement to Zvezda TV.
A senior Ukrainian official informed the AFP news agency that Kyiv anticipates achieving at least a partial ceasefire concerning energy supplies, infrastructure, and maritime activities.
“Our approach is to fight for resolving at least one key issue,” Karasin informed Zvezda, a channel owned by Russia’s Defence Ministry. He mentioned that his team will leave for Saudi Arabia on Sunday and return the following Tuesday.
Questions have arisen regarding Russia’s choice of negotiators, since Karasin and Beseda do not fall under traditional foreign policy or military decision-making bodies such as the Kremlin, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or Defence Ministry.
Karasin is a career diplomat now serving in Russia’s upper legislative chamber, while Beseda, a former long-serving FSB officer, now advises the service’s director. In 2014, the FSB admitted that Beseda was present in Kyiv during a violent crackdown on pro-European Union demonstrations known as the Maidan Uprising.
