Putin upbeat on Ukraine operation as war rages

Vladimir Putin

• Russia describes status for Ukraine similar to Austria and Sweden • Close to an agreement, says Russia’s Lavrov • Kyiv eyes truce, withdrawal and security guarantees Russian bombs rained down on Ukrainian cities yesterday, Ukrainian official said, despite talk of compromise from both Moscow and Kyiv in peace talks after three weeks of war. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was ready to discuss neutral status for its neighbour but would still achieve the goals of its operation, which he said was “going to plan”. But Putin acknowledged that Western sanctions imposed on Russia in response to its actions were hurting. Earlier, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said talks were becoming “more realistic” and Russia’s foreign minister said proposals under discussion were “close to an agreement”. On the 21st day of the conflict, Russian forces kept up their bombardments of besieged cities, including intensified shelling of the capital Kyiv. The US embassy in Kyiv said Russian forces had shot dead 10 people waiting in line for bread in Chernihiv, northeast of Kyiv. Footage from Ukraine’s state broadcaster showed bodies lying on the street. Ukraine’s general prosecutor’s office said it had opened an investigation. Russia denied the attack and said the incident was a hoax. Emergency service said rescue workers had found the bodies of five people, including three children, during searches of shell-hit residential buildings in Chernihiv. In the besieged southern port of Mariupol, the city council said Russian forces bombed a theatre where civilians were sheltering. The number of casualties was not known. Russia’s defence ministry denied it had carried out an air strike against the theatre. Reuters could not independently verify the information. The governor of Zaporizhzhia region said Russian forces had fired artillery at a convoy of evacuees from Mariupol, wounding five people. Ukraine’s military said children were among the casualties. Three people were killed and five wounded after shelling caused a fire at a market in eastern Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, emergency services said. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said 400 staff and patients were being held hostage at a hospital Russian forces had captured in Mariupol on Tuesday. Moscow denies targeting civilians. Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko said Russian shelling caused a fire and damaged private homes and a gas line there yesterday evening after early morning barrages. Russian troops have halted at the gates of the capital after taking heavy losses and failing to seize any major city in a war Western officials say Moscow expected to win within days. Nato defence ministers meeting in Brussels also pledged more arms supplies to help Ukraine fight off the Russian invasion. Talks were due yesterday by a video link for a third straight day. The Kremlin said negotiators were discussing status for Ukraine similar to that of Austria or Sweden, both members of the European Union that are outside the Nato military alliance. Ukraine’s chief negotiator said Kyiv was still demanding a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops, with guarantees. “Neutral status is now being seriously discussed along, of course, with security guarantees,” Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said. “There are absolutely specific formulations which in my view are close to agreement.” Vladimir Medinsky, Russia’s chief negotiator, told state TV: “Ukraine is offering an Austrian or Swedish version of a neutral demilitarised state, but at the same time a state with its own army and navy.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the idea “could really be seen as a compromise”.