Russia says Ukraine talks progressing as onslaught continues

KYIV, Ukraine: Russia’s military forces blasted Ukraine’s capital region and other major cities Wednesday as they tried to crush a Ukrainian defense that has frustrated their progress nearly three weeks after invading, while the two countries signaled some optimism for negotiations to end the war.

With Russia’s ground advance on Kyiv stalled despite the sustained bombardment, statements from the two sides suggested room for their talks to make progress. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said a neutral military status for Ukraine was being “seriously discussed” at the “businesslike” talks, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described Russia’s demands for ending the war as becoming “more realistic.”

Zelenskyy said Russian forces had been unable to move deeper into Ukrainian territory but had continued their heavy shelling of cities. Kyiv residents huddled in homes and shelters amid a citywide curfew that runs until Thursday morning, as Russia rained shells on areas in and around the city. A 12-story apartment building in central Kyiv erupted in flames after being hit by shrapnel. “Efforts are still needed, patience is needed,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address to the nation.

“Any war ends with an agreement.” British and U.S. intelligence assessments supported the Ukrainian leader’s view of the fighting, saying Russian ground forces remained about 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the center of Kyiv. Hopes for diplomatic progress rose after Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Ukraine realized it could not join NATO, his most explicit acknowledgment that the goal, enshrined in Ukraine’s Constitution, was unlikely to be met.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has long depicted Ukraine’s NATO aspirations as a threat to Russia, something the Western military alliance denies. Lavrov welcomed Zelenskyy’s comment and said “the businesslike spirit” starting to surface in the talks “gives hope that we can agree on this issue.” “A neutral status is being seriously discussed in connection with security guarantees,” Lavrov said Wednesday on Russian channel RBK TV.

“There are concrete formulations that in my view are close to being agreed.” Russia’s chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, said the sides were discussing a possible compromise idea for a future Ukraine with a smaller, nonaligned military. Prospects of a diplomatic breakthrough were highly uncertain, however, with a gulf between Ukraine’s demand that the invading forces withdraw completely and Russia’s suspected war aim of replacing Kyiv’s Westward-looking government with pro-Moscow leadership. (AP)