Russia-Ukraine talks possible this month, Zelensky says, as Moscow pounds Kyiv

KYIV, September 9 ------ Russian, Ukrainian and United States negotiators could meet as early as this month for talks on finding an end to the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, hours after Moscow pounded Kyiv with missiles and drones. The overnight barrage killed three people, the capital's mayor said, sending smoke billowing above the city as Moscow ended its temporary halt to strikes on Kyiv.

US President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had visited the Russian and Ukrainian capitals at the weekend for talks with both Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin. There was no immediate breakthrough in the bid to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II, but Zelensky on Tuesday said there were hopes to resume direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in the coming weeks.

"All of us will be preparing and bringing closer a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, Russia, and America," Zelenskyy told journalists. "If all sides agree, we also want to hold it in the autumn. If September works out, then it would be great. The earlier, the better," he said, without elaborating or confirming where the talks would take place. Several previous rounds of negotiations have failed to move the sides closer together. Trust is low, and there is no sign that either Moscow or Kyiv has shifted its positions.

AFP reporters in Kyiv heard fresh explosions ringing out in the early hours of Tuesday, triggering fires and sending locals down into basements and metro stations for shelter. "The moment the US president's peace envoys left, Putin launched another massive, horrific attack against Kyiv," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said on social media. "His ballistic missiles speak louder than his words on diplomacy."

Source: channelnewsasia.com