Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that Russian leader Vladimir Putin must be pushed to halt his three-year invasion, as talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia on a partial ceasefire got under way.
“No matter what we talk about with our partners, we need to push Putin to give a real order to stop the strikes: the one who brought this war must take it away,” Zelensky said in an evening address posted on social media.
A Ukrainian delegation was meeting US officials in Riyadh late on Sunday with Washington saying the talks would focus on a possible ceasefire in the Black Sea.
Russian officials were expected to meet the Americans on Monday for a separate round of negotiations.
Putin has rejected a joint US-Ukrainian offer of a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire, instead backing a halt only to aerial strikes against energy facilities.
Both sides have launched multiple massive aerial attacks this week ahead of the talks.
