The Ukrainian and Russian delegations have finished the second round of peace negotiations regarding the invasion and have agreed to protect civilian lives.
Both nations have agreed to set up humanitarian corridors, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said. This will allow both countries to evacuate civilians and provide medical aid where it is needed.
The results of the negotiations were still quite limited beyond the humanitarian corridors, however. “To our great regret, we did not get the results we were counting on,” said Podolyak, who accompanied the team to Belarus to meet Russia’s negotiation team. Ukraine does intend to meet for a third round of discussions, “probably in the nearest time.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin also confirmed that the Russian military has agreed to these humanitarian corridors, reported DW.
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While Podolyak was discouraged, others expressed hope about developments. Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky claimed that the negotiations offered “substantial progress.”
“The main issue we decided on today was the issue of saving people, civilians who are in the zone of military clashes,” Medinsky said. “Russia calls on civilians who find themselves in this situation, if military actions continue, to use these humanitarian corridors.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky requested in a Thursday press conference that Putin consider participating in face-to-face talks.
“Sit down with me to negotiate, just not at 30 meters,” he said, taking a jab at Putin over his use of an unusually long table for meetings. “I don’t bite. What are you afraid of?”
More than 1 million refugees have fled across Ukraine’s borders amid the war, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said in a Wednesday tweet. Civilian casualties have also continued to rise, with Ukrainian officials claiming that 2,000 civilians have been killed in the war so far. Twenty-two civilians were killed after Russian missiles struck Ukrainian homes and schools.
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Russian troop movements have been slow, with Pentagon officials claiming that Russian forces have not advanced much toward Kyiv in “two or three days.”
