KYIV, March 24 ------ Ukrainian and US delegations discussed proposals to protect energy facilities and critical infrastructure, Ukraine's defense minister said, part of a diplomatic push by US President Donald Trump to end three years of war. The meeting in Saudi Arabia, which preceded talks on Monday between the US and Russian delegations, came as US special envoy Steve Witkoff expressed optimism about the chances of ending Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II. "I feel that (Russian President Vladimir Putin) wants peace," Witkoff told Fox News. "I think that you're going to see in Saudi Arabia on Monday some real progress, particularly as it affects a Black Sea ceasefire on ships between both countries. And from that, you'll naturally gravitate into a full-on shooting ceasefire."
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country's delegation to Sunday's talks was working in "a completely constructive manner", adding: "The conversation is quite useful, the work of the delegations is continuing." "But no matter what we say to our partners today, we need to get Putin to give a real order to stop the strikes," Zelensky said in a televised statement.
Ukraine's delegation was headed by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who said the aim of such contacts was helping to "bring a just peace closer and to strengthen security", although Zelensky also said Sunday's talks were essentially "technical". Putin agreed last week to Trump's proposal for Russia and Ukraine to stop attacks on each other's energy infrastructure for 30 days, but that narrowly defined ceasefire was soon cast into doubt, with both sides reporting continued strikes.
A large-scale Russian drone attack on Kyiv overnight killed at least three people, including a 5-year-old child, causing fires in high-rise apartment buildings and damage throughout the capital, Ukrainian officials said on Sunday. Meanwhile, Russian authorities said on Sunday that their air defenses had destroyed 59 Ukrainian drones targeting the country's southwestern regions, adding that the strikes had killed one person in Rostov. Zelensky, facing continued advances by Russian troops in eastern Ukraine, has backed Trump's call for a blanket 30-day ceasefire.
Source: channelnewsasia.com
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