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Kremlin Acknowledges Ukraine’s Proposal to Halt Strikes on Civilian Infrastructure, but Seeks Further Talks
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![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
The Kremlin acknowledged Ukraine’s recent proposal to halt attacks on civilian infrastructure but emphasized that “there are no specific plans yet for talks” on formalizing any such agreement, and the need for further discussion—pointing to what it described as the “complexity” of determining what qualifies as a civilian target during wartime, said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, according to Russian state agency RIA Novosti on April 22.
Speaking to reporters, Peskov said Russian leader Vladimir Putin addressed the issue on Monday, highlighting the difficulty in distinguishing civilian objects from legitimate military targets in some cases.
“If we’re talking about civilian infrastructure, we must clearly differentiate when such sites can be considered military targets and when they cannot,” Peskov said.
“The [Russian] president explained this yesterday. He said, for example, if militants are holding a meeting inside, is it a civilian facility? Yes. But is it a military target? Also yes. So there are nuances here worth discussing.”
Peskov said Moscow is open to talks, but first wants to evaluate Ukraine’s sincerity and review the recent so-called Easter truce, which Russia declared unilaterally.
“The president said he’s ready to discuss it,” Peskov told reporters. “But first, we need to understand whether the Ukrainian side is actually prepared for this.”
He added: “The Ukrainian side made a proposal to stop strikes, but this issue should be considered in light of the Easter ceasefire experience.”
The temporary ceasefire, announced by Putin, was in effect from 6 pm on April 19 until midnight on April 21.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, Moscow instructed its forces to observe the truce but remain prepared for what it claimed were possible provocations. On Monday, the Defense Ministry accused Ukrainian forces of violating the truce 4,900 times during that period.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that between 6:00 pm on April 19 and midnight on April 20, Russian forces carried out a total of 387 attacks and launched 19 assault operations. Drones were used 290 times during that period.
“Overall, as of Easter morning, we can state that the Russian army is attempting to create the general impression of a ceasefire, while in some areas still continuing isolated attempts to advance and inflict losses on Ukraine. Russia must fully comply with the conditions of the ceasefire,” Zelenskyy wrote.
-21d0b63c17f6020e4df75f6c6f9a2f4f.jpg "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
