Moscow, Kyiv trade blame for strikes endangering truce efforts
A Ukrainian serviceman holds a MANPADS (Man-Portable Air-Defence Systems) "Stinger" anti-aircraft weapon while scanning for possible air targets, onboard a Maritime Guard of the State Border Service of Ukraine boat as it patrols in the northwestern part of the Black Sea on December 18, 2023 (AFP photo)
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia and Ukraine accused each other Wednesday of derailing a US-brokered deal -- announced a day earlier -- that could see the warring countries halt attacks on the Black Sea and against energy sites. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced a barrage of more than 100 drones launched by Russia overnight, hours after Kyiv agreed to a framework for a halt in fighting in the key waterway. The United States said it had brokered the agreements in talks with both sides in Saudi Arabia, part of efforts by US President Donald Trump to speedily end Russia's invasion of Ukraine now grinding through its fourth year. But key questions over implementation remain. The Kremlin said the agreement to halt Black Sea strikes could only come into force after the lifting of restrictions on its agriculture sector. Kyiv, which has voiced readiness to agree a complete 30-day ceasefire, said it had come into effect when the US published details of the agreement late Tuesday. "Launching such large-scale attacks after ceasefire negotiations is a clear signal to the whole world that Moscow is not going to pursue real peace," Zelensky wrote in a statement on social media. 'More pressure' on Russia "There must also be clear pressure and strong action from the world on Russia -- more pressure, more sanctions from the United States -- to stop Russian strikes," Zelensky said. Russia launched 117 drones over Ukraine overnight, out of which 56 were downed and 48 were lost from radar without causing damage, the air force said. The attack damaged buildings in the central city of Kryvyi Rig -- Zelensky's hometown -- and in the border region of Sumy, Ukrainian officials said. Russia meanwhile accused Ukraine of attacking its energy infrastructure overnight. President Vladimir Putin had ordered a 30-day truce on such targets last week but Kyiv has said Russian strikes on energy sites have continued unabated. Ukraine fired drones at a "gas storage facility" in the annexed Crimean peninsula as well as a power installation in the Bryansk region, the Russian defence ministry said. "The Kyiv regime, while continuing to damage Russia's civilian energy infrastructure, is actually doing everything it can to disrupt the Russian-American agreements," it wrote. Moscow insists the 30-day truce has been in effect since March 18, but the monitoring of it is unclear and both the US and Russia have issued contradictory statements. 'Dragging their feet' The US said Moscow and Kyiv had only agreed to "develop measures" towards an energy truce. A communications advisor for Zelensky said late Tuesday that Russian forces had struck Ukrainian energy sites eight times since Putin's order. Trump's aim to hastily end the war has raised fears in Ukraine that it could be forced into ceding some of the 20 percent of its territory that Russia occupies, or that a US deal might not come with deterrents that would stop Russia from attacking again. Zelensky and officials in Kyiv have claimed repeatedly that Moscow does in fact not want peace and is only seeking to continue advancing across the front line. Trump in an interview Tuesday conceded that "it could be they're dragging their feet", referring to Russia, adding that: "I think Russia would like to see it end, and I think Zelensky would like to see it end at this point." Germany urged Russia on Wednesday to agree to a ceasefire without conditions.
"It is not a situation for dialogue when a ceasefire is repeatedly tied to concessions and new demands... we must not be deceived by the Russian president," Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said.
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