KYIV: The Kremlin on Saturday said a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would be possible only after both sides reach an agreement, a day after Moscow and Kyiv held their first direct talks in more than three years, which did not result in a truce. The morning after the talks, a Russian drone attack on a minibus carrying evacuated civilians in the eastern Sumy region killed nine people and wounded five, local authorities said.“Yesterday, as on any day of this war, there was an opportunity to cease fire,” Zelensky wrote on social media following the attack, adding that “Russia only retains the opportunity to continue killing”. He reiterated his call on Ukraine’s allies to step up sanctions on Moscow. “Without stronger sanctions, without stronger pressure on Russia, there will be no real diplomacy there,” the Ukrainian president said. The first direct talks since the spring of 2022 — shortly after Moscow’s full-scale invasion that February — between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul resulted in a concrete agreement to exchange 1,000 prisoners each.Ukraine’s top negotiator, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, said the “next step” would be a meeting between Zelensky and Putin. Russia said it took note of the request.“We consider it possible, but only as a result of the work and upon achieving certain results in the form of an agreement between the two sides,” the Kremlin’s spokesman said.Russia’s top negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky said that Moscow and Kyiv would “present their vision of a possible future ceasefire”, without saying when.The Kremlin said that first the POW swap must be completed and both sides need to present their visions for a ceasefire before fixing the next round of talks.“For now, we need to do what the delegations agreed on yesterday” in Turkey, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that “this, of course, means first and foremost to complete a 1,000 for 1,000 swap”.The head of Ukraine’s military intelligence Kirillo Budanov told broadcaster TSN he hoped the exchange would happen next week and that he saw no hurdles to the swap. Fighting goes on On Saturday, there were few signs of progress towards halting the fighting.The bus was attacked near the city of Bilopillya, local community head Yuri Zarko told Suspilne TV. A family of three died in the attack, the authorities said. Elsewhere on the frontlines, the Russian army said its troops captured Oleksandropil village in the eastern Donetsk region, where some of the most intense fighting in the war is ongoing. Apart from Sumy, Russia pounded missiles and drones across eastern Ukraine, hitting the Kherson, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions, killing six and wounding more than a dozen. In Kherson, Russian shelling hit a truck carrying humanitarian aid on Saturday morning. ‘Real steps’ needed French President Emmanuel Macron said he was sure that US counterpart Donald Trump would react to Putin’s “cynicism” on Ukraine following the deadly minibus attack.Putin declined to travel to Turkey for the meeting. Zelensky accused him of being “afraid” and Russia of not taking the talks “seriously”.“Yesterday in Istanbul, everyone saw a weak and unprepared Russian delegation with no significant powers. This must change. We need real steps to end the war,” Zelensky said on Saturday.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed the outcome of the Istanbul talks during a phone call with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Saturday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said, adding Moscow was ready to continue working with the US on the matter. On Friday, Zelensky attended a European summit in Albania where he urged a “strong reaction” from the world if the Istanbul talks failed, including new sanctions.Macron said European nations were coordinating with Washington on additional sanctions should Moscow continue to refuse an “unconditional ceasefire”.Both Moscow and Washington have talked up the need for a meeting on the conflict between Putin and US President Donald Trump.Trump has argued that “nothing’s going to happen” on the conflict until he meets Putin face-to-face.During the Istanbul talks, the Ukrainian side said Russia was making “unacceptable” territorial demands.Moscow claims annexation of five Ukrainian regions — four since its 2022 invasion, and Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.
