Zelensky lamented the missed opportunity in Friday’s negotiations, saying that ‘Ukraine has long proposed a total and unconditional ceasefire to save lives’
A Russian drone hit a bus on Saturday (17), a bus that evacuated civilians from a front line area in the Sumy region of northeastern, killing nine people and hurting seven, Ukrainian officials said. The attack occurred a few hours after Moscow and Kiev held the first direct peace negotiations in years, which did not result in a ceasefire. The local governor, Oleh Hryhoorov, and the Ukraine National Police reported that the attack occurred in Bilopillia, a city about 10 kilometers from the Russian border. Associated Press failed to verify the information independently and there were no immediate comments from Moscow.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as “deliberate civilian murder.” He stated in a publication app publication telegram that “the Russians could hardly ignore the type of vehicle they were reaching.” He regretted the missed opportunity in Friday’s negotiations, saying that “Ukraine has long proposed a total and unconditional ceasefire to save lives.” “Russia only keeps the ability to keep killing,” added Zelenski. In Bilopillia, he was declared official mourning until Monday, with the local community chief, Yurii Zarko, calling Black Saturday.
Local Communication vehicle Suspilne reported that the bus passengers were being evacuated from the city when the accident occurred. Authorities are working to identify some of the mostly elderly victims. The injured were taken to a hospital in Sumy, the regional capital, and three people are in serious condition. On Saturday morning, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that its forces reached a military concentration area in the Sumy region, about 50 kilometers southeast of Bilopillia, not to mention any other attacks on the site.
KURSK MOVEMENT
According to a Think Tank headquartered in Washington, the Ukrainian forces have slowly advanced in Russian territory in the Kursk region, north of Bilopillia. According to last week’s report of the Institute for the War Study, Kiev troops advanced south of the village of Tyotkino, on the border with Russia. Russia said last month that its forces had totally recovered the Kursk region, almost nine months after Kiev’s lightning foray captured more than 100 settlements in the region, and promised to give Ukraine a bargaining chip in possible negotiations with Kremlin. Ukrainian authorities claimed that the fighting in Kursk continues.
Negotiation
It is unclear how Saturday’s attack can affect peace efforts. Russian and Ukrainian authorities met on Friday, 16, in Türkiye, to try to reach a temporary ceasefire, but negotiations ended in less than two hours without any advance. It was the first face -to -face dialogue between the two parts since the first weeks of the Ukraine large -scale invasion of Moscow in February 2022. And although both sides agreed with a large exchange of prisoners, they remained very distant as to the main conditions for the end of the conflict.
One of these conditions for Ukraine, supported by its Western Allies, is a temporary ceasefire as a first step for a peaceful solution. Kremlin has opposed such a truce, which remains undefined. Zelensky said he discussed negotiations with US President Donald Trump and France, Germany, Britain and Poland leaders. In an X publication of a European leadership meeting in Albania on Friday, he asked for “severe sanctions” against Moscow if the country rejected “a total and unconditional ceasefire and the end of the murders.” Kiev and Moscow agreed in Istanbul to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each, according to the heads of both delegations, in what would be the biggest exchange of this type.
The parties also discussed a ceasefire and a meeting among their heads of state, according to the main Ukrainian delegate, Defense Minister Rustem Umarov. But the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, advisor to President Vladimir Putin, said that both sides also agreed to provide each other detailed ceasefire proposals, with Ukraine requesting heads of state to meet, which Russia took into consideration. In Tyran, Albania, Zelenskyy met with leaders from 47 European countries to discuss security, defense and democratic standards in the context of war. Among them were Emmanuel Macron, French president; Friedrich Merz, German Chancellor; Keir Strmer, British Prime Minister; and Donald Tusk, Polish Prime Minister. “The pressure on Russia should be maintained until Russia is ready to end the war,” Zelensky said at X, posting a photo of leaders during the meeting, the group’s second since 10 May.
Posted by Luisa Cardoso
*With information from Estadão Content
