Moscow launches new attacks on Ukraine... and sirens sound in Kyiv

Russia is open to talks with the West and is waiting for a serious negotiation proposal

Smoke rose on the outskirts of Kyiv after a Russian missile attack.

Reuters

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said yesterday that Moscow was open to talks with the West over the Ukraine war, but had not yet received any serious negotiation proposal, as Russia launched new attacks on Ukraine, while sirens sounded in Kyiv.

In an interview broadcast on state television, Lavrov said Russia was ready to hold talks with the United States or Turkey on ways to end the war that broke out eight months ago.

He added that officials, including White House national security spokesman John Kirby, said the United States was open to talks, but Russia refused.

"This is a lie," Lavrov said.

We have not received any serious offers to make contact.”

He added that Russia will not reject a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden, during the G-20 summit meeting, to be held in Indonesia in the middle of next month, and will consider any proposal it receives in this regard.

"We have said many times that we never refuse meetings," Lavrov said.

If we receive a proposal, we will consider it.”

Commenting on the possibility that Turkey would host talks between Russia and the West, Lavrov said that Moscow would be willing to listen to any suggestions, but could not say in advance whether that would lead to results.

He added that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will have the opportunity to present proposals to President Putin, when they both visit Kazakhstan this week.

The Kremlin said Russia was preparing itself for a longer war with Ukraine, due to planned US arms shipments to Kiev.

He criticized President Biden's statements, in which his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, promised to provide "advanced air defense systems" to Ukraine.

The Russian Interfax news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, as saying that supplying Ukraine with anti-aircraft systems, as announced by the United States, "will prolong the conflict and make it more painful for the Ukrainian side."

"But that will not change our goals, not even the end result," he added.

"The confrontation will continue," Peskov said, referring to the G7 meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday.

"The mood before the summit is well understood and easily predictable," Peskov said.

The confrontation will continue," he added, adding that Russia "will achieve its specific goals" in Ukraine.

On the ground, Russia launched missiles again and used combat drones on many areas in Ukraine yesterday, after it carried out intense bombing the day before, killing at least 19 people, in addition to hitting vital infrastructure, which sparked condemnation. international for what happened.

The authorities in the hotly contested Zaporizhia region in the south of the country reported rocket attacks, while explosions occurred in the suburbs of Kyiv and the city of Khmelnytskyi in the west of the country.

An air strike alert was issued in Kyiv, prompting citizens to seek safety in emergency shelters.

The regions of Dnipropetrovsk, Vinnytsia, Mykolaiv and Rivne were bombed.

In the Vinnytsia region, southwest of Kyiv, a thermal power plant was attacked by a drone.

The press office of the power station said that the attack did not result in injuries.

On the other hand, Ukrainian media reported that 20 missiles fell yesterday morning.

Yesterday afternoon, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that military sites and the electricity network were attacked.

"The desired objective of the strike has been achieved," said ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov.

For its part, the Ukrainian authorities recorded, the day before yesterday, the occurrence of more than 80 Russian attacks (various between land, sea and air), and the air defenses responded to many of them.

According to preliminary information, 19 people were killed, and more than 100 others were injured across the country. 

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