Zelensky pushes peace talks hours after Russian attack on Ukraine

Ukraine’s President proposed a new round of peace talks with Russia hours after air strikes from Russia claimed several Ukrainian’s lives, according to a report by The New Arab plus Agencies via the Guardian on July 19th.

Zelensky stated in his evening address that “the next meeting with the Russian side” was set “for next week,” adding that “The momentum of the negotiations must be stepped up.”

Previously, two rounds of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia failed to progress towards a ceasefire, settling with large-scale prisoner exchanges and returning the bodies of dead soldiers.

Peace talks in June saw Russia outlining a bold set of demands that included Ukraine surrendering more territory and rejecting all forms of Western military support. Ukraine dismissed them as unacceptable and, at the time, questioned the point of further negotiations if Russia was not willing to make concessions.

The Russian government further stated early in July that they were ready to continue talks with Ukraine after US President Donald Trump gave Russia 50 days to strike a peace deal or face further sanctions.

President Trump also pledged to supply Ukraine with new military aid, sponsored by different NATO allies, as Ukrainian cities suffer more Russian aerial attacks. However, Russian long-range aerial attacks on Ukrainian cities alongside frontline assaults over recent months have defied Trump’s threats.

On July 19th, Russia fired several missiles and drone strikes that took the lives of 3 people across Ukraine. 2 people were found dead after a Russian missile hit Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region, which is a very crucial industrial hub in Ukraine.

Earlier on July 19th, 20 salvo drones surged on the Ukrainian port city of Odessa, killing 1 person overnight. Russia had to suspend trains for 4 hours overnight, causing several delays in the Southern Rostov region, when it came under a Ukrainian attack that severely injured one railway worker.

Previously, on May 26th, Russia made its largest air strikes recorded during the war, where 298 drones and 69 missiles claimed 4 Ukrainian lives and injured 16 people in Kyiv.

Ukraine and Russia are further showing no signs of peace with using several cheap drones to overwhelm each other’s air defence, whilst both sides further stated on July 19th, that they had intercepted hundreds of drones, now launched in massive amounts daily.

During the meeting for peace talks in Istanbul, Ukraine and Russia’s agreements, Ukraine received 1,000 soldiers’ bodies on July 17th, whilst Russia states that they received 19 of their soldiers’ bodies.

The New Arab plus Agencies via The Guardian, Maghrebi.org.