Diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine were stepping up on Monday, with Ukrainian and Russian negotiators set to talk again after both sides cited progress, even after Russia attacked a base near the Polish border and fighting raged elsewhere.
A barrage of Russian missiles hit Ukraine's Yavoriv International Centre for Peacekeeping and Security, a base just 25 km from the Polish border that has previously hosted NATO military instructors, killing 35 people and wounding 134, a Ukrainian official said on Sunday. Russia's Defence Ministry said up to 180 "foreign mercenaries" and a large number of foreign weapons were destroyed.
Hopes were boosted after Russia and Ukraine gave their most upbeat assessments after weekend negotiations. "Russia is already beginning to talk constructively," Ukrainian negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak said in a video online. "I think that we will achieve some results literally in a matter of days."
A Russian delegate to the talks, Leonid Slutsky, was quoted by the RIA news agency as saying they had made significant progress and it was possible the delegations could soon reach draft agreements.
Focus on humanitarian issues
Neither side said what these would cover. Three rounds of talks between the two sides in Belarus, most recently last Monday, had focused mainly on humanitarian issues.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the countries' delegations had been speaking daily by video link and a clear aim of his negotiators was to "do everything" to arrange for him to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"We must hold on. We must fight. And we will win," Mr. Zelensky said in a late night video speech.
Negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv are due to restart on Tuesday, a Ukrainian delegate said.
