Zelensky accepts Putin’s proposal, ready for peace talks

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has accepted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal and is ready to negotiate peace and a ceasefire, Zelensky’s press secretary Sergey Nikiforov said on Saturday.

“I have to refute allegations that we have refused to have talks. Ukraine has always been and is ready to negotiate peace and a ceasefire. It is our permanent position. We have accepted the Russian president’s proposal,” he wrote on his Facebook account.

According to Nikoforov, consultations are underway about the place and time of the negotiations. The sooner talks begin, the more chances there will be to restore normal life, he noted.

 Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said earlier that Putin was ready to send a delegation to Minsk for talks with Ukraine. Later, he said that in response to the initiative to hold talks in the Belarusian capital city the Ukrainian side suggested Warsaw as a possible venue and still later lost contact.

Russian armed forces establish full control over the city of Melitopol: Russian MoD

The Russian forces have swept into Melitopol meeting no resistance during the operation aimed at demilitarizing Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry told reporters.

“In the evening of February 26, after an amphibious landing near the populated locality of Azovskoye (Ukraine), Russian units were on the march, and entered Melitopol, meeting no resistance. Melitopol residents welcomed the Russian troops who were moving around the city. Some elderly citizens took to the streets [waving] red flags,” the defense ministry said.

Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov told reporters that since the start of the special operation, Russian armed forces have disabled 83 facilities of Ukraine’s ground military infrastructure, destroyed four planes and four drones.

“Overall, as a result of strikes by the Russian armed forces, 83 ground-based objects of Ukrainian military infrastructure have been kncked out of action. Since the start of the military operation, two Su-27 and two Su-24 planes, one helicopter and four Bayraktar TB-2 drones of the Ukrainian armed forces have been shot down,” he said.

Source: Itar Tass