Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a defiant video statement on Sunday (March 13), on day 18 of the war which began when Russian forces invaded.
Addressing the Russian airstrike on the Yavoriv International Centre for Peacekeeping and Security earlier on Sunday, in which 35 people were killed, Zelenskyy said the day began “dark.”
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Zelenskyy also repeated his calls to NATO to implement a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
Despite Sunday morning’s airstrike in Western Ukraine and the evacuation of thousands of civilians from cities across the country, Zelenskyy remained defiant in his message.
“We will win thanks to the fact that Ukrainians know how to unite. We can always count on our own people,” he said, referencing a visit to a checkpoint in Kyiv on Sunday.
The Ukrainian president also gave hope to further negotiations with Moscow, saying his delegation is in talks with their Russian counterparts every day via video conferencing.
A Russian delegate to talks, Leonid Slutsky, was on Sunday quoted by RIA news agency as saying the two delegations had made significant progress and it was possible the meetings could soon reach draft agreements.
Leaders cite progress in Russia-Ukraine talks
Despite the violence, both sides said they thought progress could be made at bilateral talks that have been held periodically since Russia invaded on February 24, although they gave no details of what might be agreed.
Diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine were gearing up on Monday, with Ukrainian and Russian negotiators set to talk again after both sides cited progress, even though Russia attacked a base near the Polish border and fighting raged elsewhere.
The United States, which had watched Russia's build-up on Ukraine’s borders with mounting alarm for weeks, says it was a premeditated, unjustified and unlawful “war of choice.”
In a telephone call, US President Joe Biden and France's Emmanuel Macron underscored their commitment to holding Russia accountable for the invasion, the White House said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, also discussed diplomatic efforts to stop Russia's invasion, the State Department said.
Hopes were boosted after Russia and Ukraine gave their most upbeat assessments following weekend negotiations.
“Russia is already beginning to talk constructively,” Ukrainian negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak said in a video online. “I think that we will achieve some results literally in a matter of days.”
A Russian delegate to the talks, Leonid Slutsky, was quoted by the RIA news agency as saying they had made significant progress and it was possible the delegations could soon reach draft agreements.
Ukraine said talks via video were set to start at 10:30 a.m. (0830 GMT). Neither side has said what they would cover. Three rounds of talks in Belarus, most recently last Monday, had focused mainly on humanitarian issues.
Zelenskyy said the countries’ delegations had been speaking daily by video link and a clear aim of his negotiators was to “do everything” to arrange for him to meet Putin.
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