Oleksiy Aristovich, senior advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, revealed that Russian forces have seized the country's second largest power plant, noting that Moscow is carrying out a "comprehensive redeployment" of its forces in 3 southern regions, while Washington announced that it made an "important" offer to Russia while Concerning the American prisoners held by Moscow.
In a parallel context, Al-Jazeera correspondent said that 4 powerful explosions rocked the city of Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine.
Russian-backed forces had earlier announced the capture of the Volhersk Power Plant in southeastern Ukraine, a Soviet-era coal-fired plant.
"They have made limited tactical progress. They have taken Volhersk," the chancellor said in an interview posted on YouTube.
In a parallel context, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that the United States had made an "important" offer to Russia regarding American prisoners.
"We put a proposal on the table weeks ago to facilitate the release of two American detainees," Blinken told reporters.
And the US Secretary of State revealed Wednesday that he will speak soon with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, for the first time since the start of the Russian war on Ukraine.
Blinken said at a press conference at the US State Department that he would limit the conversation to priorities, including the release of American detainees, and that the phone conversation "in the coming days" with Lavrov "will not be for negotiations on Ukraine."
Upcoming deal
The US Secretary of State confirmed that he would press Lavrov, during his awaited call, to respond to an offer Washington had put on the table weeks ago to facilitate the release of two American detainees held by Moscow.
Blinken added that Washington offered Moscow a deal weeks ago, according to which basketball star Britney Greiner and former US Marine Paul Whelan would be returned, and that he hoped to advance the process during his conversation with Lavrov.
"There has been an important proposal on the table for weeks to facilitate their release. Our government has had frequent and direct contacts on this proposal. I will take the opportunity of the conversation (with Lavrov) to follow up personally and hopefully we can move towards some solution," he said.
Blinken declined to reveal what the United States would offer in return.
CNN reported that Washington is ready to return Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who is serving a prison sentence in the United States, as part of a deal to secure the release of American citizens.
But Russia's TASS news agency said Washington had not formally contacted Russia about a call between Blinken and Lavrov.
"It is the established diplomatic practices that govern our work, not the transmitted speech," the agency quoted a spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying.
The American offer comes amid increasing pressure on President Joe Biden from the families of American detainees and hostages, the latest of whom is Greiner, a two-time Olympic medalist who has been detained in Russia since February on drug charges.
Whelan was sentenced in 2020 to 16 years in prison in Russia for espionage, while Whelan denied the accusation and says he is the victim of a conspiracy, and Washington has demanded his release.