No "concrete details" on an end to the war in Ukraine, says the Kremlin

The Kremlin judged it premature on Tuesday to discuss the “concrete details” of the process to end hostilities between Russia and Ukraine, a few days after remarks by Vladimir Putin suggesting that this devastating conflict could be coming to an end.

Russians and Ukrainians resumed their attacks during the night, following a three-day truce announced by American President Donald Trump which expired on Monday at midnight local time (9:00 p.m. GMT) and which the two belligerents mutually accused each other of having violated.

“All the achievements in terms of the peace process allow us to say that the end is truly approaching. But, in this context, it is not possible for the moment to go into concrete details,” commented the spokesperson for the Russian presidency Dmitri Peskov during his daily briefing.

He was questioned about the remarks made on Saturday by President Putin, who surprised by affirming that the conflict in Ukraine was “coming to an end” during a press conference on the day of celebrations of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.

The Russian head of state did not elaborate on this comment, which was accompanied by criticism of Western support for kyiv.

Donald Trump echoed that on Tuesday, saying the end of the fighting was “coming closer” and that he could possibly visit Russia this year.

In a speech on Red Square, after a parade without military equipment for the first time in almost twenty years and under high security, Vladimir Putin affirmed that the Russian army was facing “aggressive forces” supported by NATO in Ukraine.

Negotiations between Moscow and kyiv under American mediation to end the bloodiest conflict in Europe since the Second World War have been on hold since the start of hostilities in the Middle East at the end of February.

“The president said that Russia remains open to contact and that work has been done in a trilateral format. He said he would welcome subsequent efforts from the United States,” Peskov said.

– Explosions à Kiev –

The large-scale Russian offensive, launched in February 2022, “can stop at any time as long as the Kiev regime assumes its responsibilities and takes the necessary decision”, assured Mr. Peskov, affirming that kyiv “knows very well what decisions are necessary”.

Moscow is demanding territorial concessions from the Ukrainian government, including a complete withdrawal from the eastern region of Donbass, partially controlled by Russian forces. Demands rejected by kyiv, which equates them with capitulation.

Early Tuesday, for the first time since May 8, an alert sounded in kyiv due to drone threats, noted AFP journalists, who heard explosions and shots from the anti-aircraft defense.

Debris from drones fell on a 16-story building, causing a fire, reported the mayor of the capital, Vitali Klitschko.

The head of the military administration of the kyiv region, Mykola Kalashnyk, denounced attacks against “residential buildings and school buildings”, which however did not cause any deaths or injuries.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia on Tuesday of having “chosen to end the partial silence” by launching “200 drones” against Ukraine during the night.

“We declared that we would respond to all measures taken by Russia,” he added on social networks.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched 216 attack drones and decoy drones against Ukraine, of which 192 were neutralized.

In eastern Ukraine, at least four people died in Russian night bombings.

A Russian strike on a residential building left two people dead and one seriously injured, a baby, who lost a leg, in Kryvyi Rih, President Zelensky’s hometown, local authorities said.

“After the end of the three-day partial ceasefire, Russia continues to kill and mutilate Ukrainians,” denounced Mr. Zelensky, describing the strike on Kryvyi Rih as “cynical”.

“One person was killed, four were injured. The enemy attacked five districts of the region more than 20 times with drones, artillery and aerial bombs,” the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, Oleksandr Ganja, wrote on Telegram.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones struck a train station in the Bryansk region in western Russia, injuring two railway employees, regional governor Alexandr Bogomaz said.

And the Russian Defense Ministry announced in a press release that 27 Ukrainian drones had been shot down overnight, after the truce expired.