Ukraine ceasefire may not be in place this year, warns Russia
A ceasefire with Ukraine may not come into effect 'this year', according to a top Russian negotiator, despite Donald Trump's pledges for a swift end to the fighting.
Grigory Karasin, who led the Russian delegation in the ceasefire discussions with the US last week, acknowledged the limited results of the talks, and said a ceasefire may not come 'this year or at the end of this year'.
'It would be naive to expect any breakthrough results at the very first meeting,' said Mr Karasin, chairman of Russia's Federation Council Committee on International Affairs and a former British ambassador, on state television.
His comments came days after Ukraine and Russia agreed to a limited ceasefire on strikes against energy infrastructure and Black Sea operations – which both sides have already accused the other of violating.
It also followed Moscow's rejection of a full and unconditional 30-day truce which had been supported by the US and Ukraine on March 11.
The US president has been pushing for a quick end to the war in Ukraine, but has also acknowledged that Russia could be trying to delay. 'I think that Russia wants to see an end to it, but it could be they're dragging their feet,' Mr Trump said last week in a rare sign of frustration with Vladimir Putin.
Ukraine, meanwhile, has accused Russia of prolonging talks with no intention of halting its offensive.
'For too long now, America's proposal for an unconditional ceasefire has been on the table without an adequate response from Russia,' Volodymyr Zelensky, the president, said in his evening address on Saturday.
'There could already be a ceasefire if there was real pressure on Russia,' he added, thanking those countries 'who understand this' and have stepped up sanctions pressure on the Kremlin.
The Kremlin has said the Black Sea agreements would not come into effect unless links between some Russian banks and the international financial system were restored.
Putin has also called for a 'transitional administration' as part of the peace process, reiterating his long-standing desire to oust Mr Zelensky and install a more Moscow-friendly government in Kyiv.
On the battlefield this weekend, the Russian defence ministry claimed to have captured two Ukrainian villages: Shchebraki in the southern Zaporizhzhia region and Panteleimonivka in the eastern Donetsk region.
Ukraine also accused Russia of committing a 'war crime' after it attacked a military hospital in the city of Kharkiv.
Six strikes hit the northeastern border city overnight on Saturday into Sunday, wounding personnel undergoing treatment at a military hospital and killing at least two people in a residential building, according to Ukrainian officials.
Oleh Syniehubov, the regional governor, said that a 67-year-old man and a 70-year-old woman were killed in the attack on Ukraine's second-largest city. Officials also said 35 others were wounded.
The Ukrainian army said that a military hospital building and nearby residential buildings 'were damaged by a Shahed drone'.
'According to preliminary reports, there are casualties among the military personnel who were undergoing treatment at the medical centre,' it added.
The army then accused Russia of having carried out a 'war crime' and 'violating the norms of international humanitarian law'.
In his nightly video address on Saturday, Mr Zelensky said Ukraine expected a 'serious response' from Western countries to the nearly daily attacks.
'Our partners must understand that these Russian strikes target not only our people, but also all international efforts, diplomatic efforts aimed at ending this war,' he said.
According to the Ukrainian government and military analysts, Russian forces are preparing to launch a fresh military offensive in the coming weeks to maximise pressure on Ukraine and strengthen the Kremlin's negotiating position in ceasefire talks.
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