Talks between the United States and Russia on a partial ceasefire in Ukraine were “intense” but helpful, said a member of Russia’s negotiation team.
“We discussed everything, it was an intense dialogue, not easy, but very useful for us and for the Americans,” said Grigory Karasin on Tuesday, according to the state news agency TASS.
“Many issues were addressed,” he added.
Karasin, who was Russia’s longtime Deputy Foreign Minister, said US-Russia talks would continue, with the involvement of the United Nations and other countries. However, he did not provide details on this.
He made these comments the day after a 12-hour meeting between the two countries in Saudi Arabia, where the talks are taking place.
While the talks were ongoing in Riyadh, Russia launched a missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Sumi, injuring more than 90 people, including 23 children.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack, stating that it was the latest example of “losses, pain, and destruction, something Ukraine has never desired.”
Zelensky added that Russia is “the only side prolonging this war and torturing both our people and the entire world.”
“To force Russia to make peace, strong measures and decisive actions are needed,” he said in his daily video address.
“We are ready to support any powerful initiative that makes diplomacy more effective,” he added.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the March 24 attack on Sumi showed that Moscow’s words about peace are “empty.”
The Russian side also reported an attack. A Russian official in the occupied Ukrainian region of Luhansk said Ukrainian shelling killed six people there, including a journalist from the Russian newspaper Izvestia.
The pro-Kremlin newspaper identified the journalist as Alexander Fedorchak, stating that he was killed “in the Kharkiv region.” The Russian Ministry of Defense-sponsored channel Zvezda reported that his cameraman and driver were killed while filming a report with Fedorchak.
The talks in Saudi Arabia are part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
The U.S.-Russia meeting on Monday took place a day after separate talks between the U.S. and Ukraine, also in Saudi Arabia, which Kyiv called “fruitless.”
