Moscow (TDI): Russia has expressed willingness to consider the proposal of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for halting attacks on the civilian infrastructure on both sides, the Kremlin announced on Tuesday.
The Official Spokesperson of Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, said the Russian President has shown willingness to discuss this complex topic with the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. However, he also told reporters that plans of such a meeting have not been finalized yet.
Both Russia and Ukraine have been under pressure to demonstrate progress toward ending the three-year-long war, which is now well into its fourth year, after the US President warned that the US would walk away from peace talks if no progress was made soon.
Now, after Easter, the whole world can clearly see the real issue — the real reason why the hostilities continue. Russia is the source of this war. It is from Moscow that a real order must come for the Russian army to cease fire. And if there is no such firm Russian order for… pic.twitter.com/jS9cTiRQqd
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 21, 2025
On Monday, President Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine was willing to have discussions with Russia regarding an end on attacks on civilian infrastructure.
He said, “Ukraine maintains its proposal not to strike at the very least civilian targets. And we are expecting a clear response from Moscow,” and “We are ready for any conversation about how to achieve this.”
On the other hand, the Russian President, on Easter, announced a 30-hour long ceasefire, as a goodwill gesture.
However, both sides not only accused each other of breaking the Easter truce, but also of repeatedly violating month-long US brokered ceasefire by attacking each other’s power grids and oil refineries.
The ceasefire aimed at preventing both Russia and Ukraine from attacking energy infrastructure in each other’s territories.
Read More: US May Halt Ukraine Peace Efforts if No Breakthrough Soon: Trump, Rubio
Elaborating on the possibility of the truce, a Kremlin Spokesperson said, “Actually, the president explained the complexity of this topic just yesterday, answering journalists’ questions. That is, if we talk about civilian infrastructure facilities, we need to clearly differentiate in what situations these facilities can be a military target, and in what situations they cannot.”
Quoting the Russian President, Dmitry Peskov said that a civilian facility could become a military target if enemy forces were gathering there for a meeting, “Therefore there are nuances here that it makes sense to discuss.”
During the ceasefire period, both Russia and Ukraine had targeted each other’s civilian and military infrastructure.
At least 35 people were killed on April 13, when Russian missiles hit the Ukrainian city of Sumy. Ukraine accused Russia of targeting civilians, whereas Russia said it had hit a place of meeting of Ukrainian military officers.
Read More: Russia-Ukraine Conflict in Real Sense: Third Anniversary
President Zelenskyy stated that together with United Kingdom, France and the US, Ukraine would be discussing the possibility of achieving an unconditional ceasefire, on Wednesday.
He said, “An unconditional ceasefire must be the first step toward peace, and this Easter made it clear that it is Russia’s actions that are prolonging the war.”
Russia also frequently stated on several occasions that it was open to talks with Ukraine, but that the 2022 Zelenskyy decree had barred any negotiations between the two leaders, making it legally impossible for Russia to approach Kyiv.
Dmitry Peskov said that if Ukraine wanted to talk to Russia to end the war, then it should take the initiative to “legally clear the obstacles to such contacts.”
Javaria Khalid is a writer and researcher, who specializes in Pakistan's Foreign Policy Analysis, transatlantic geopolitics, and Pakistan’s relations with the European countries and the EU. She can be reached at javariakhalid011@outlook.com
