Kyiv, Feb 26 : The Ukrainian leadership is open to talks with Russia and the sides are discussing the format of the talks, Ukraine President’s spokesman has said. On Friday, the Kremlin spokesman Dmitriy Peskov said that Ukraine offered to hold the negotiations in Warsaw, instead of Minsk, as was proposed by Russia. Then, according to Peskov, Ukraine stopped the conversation, thekyi independent.com reported. Ukrainian presidential spokesman Serhiy Nykyforov, however, denied it and said that Ukraine was willing to negotiate, and the talks to continue. Russian President Vladimir Putin offered Ukraine to meet in Minsk for negotiations, after launching an all-out war on the country on Tuesday at dawn. Putin wants Ukraine to agree to a neutrality status, that would prohibit it from ever joining NATO, which has been Ukraine’s aspiration for a long time. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that everything would depend on the security guarantees that Ukraine receives. “We accepted the proposition of the Russian president (to negotiate),” wrote Nykyforov. “In these very hours the sides are discussing the place and time of the negotiations.” Russia continued attacking Ukraine from several directions through Friday night, and launched an intense attack on the city of Kyiv, using airstrikes and deploying paratroopers. The Russian invasion killed 137 Ukrainians on its first day on February 24. The Ukrainian government said that over 1,000 Russian troops were killed on the first day as well. Ukraine said it was the highest number of battlefield casualties that modern Russia has ever sustained in one day. ING ACL0607
