KYIV: The Kremlin on Tuesday warned against rushing Ukraine peace talks, pushing back on US President Donald Trump鈥檚 hopes for a speedy deal the day before Ukraine鈥檚 allies are set to meet in London.
Trump, who promised on the campaign trail to strike a deal between Moscow and Kyiv in 24 hours, has in three months failed to wrangle concessions from Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt his invasion.
The Republican had said over the weekend he hoped a peace deal could be struck 鈥渢his week鈥� despite no signs the two sides are anywhere close to agreeing even a ceasefire, let alone a wider long-term settlement.
Moscow鈥檚 forces occupy around a fifth of Ukrainian territory and tens of thousands have been killed since they invaded in February 2022.
鈥淭his topic is so complex, connected with a settlement, that, of course, probably it is not worth setting any rigid time frames and trying to get a settlement, a viable settlement, in a short-time frame,鈥� Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state TV on Tuesday.
After rejecting a US-Ukrainian offer for a full and unconditional ceasefire last month, Putin announced a surprise Easter truce over the weekend.
Fighting dipped during the 30-hour period but Russia launched fresh attacks on residential areas on Monday and Tuesday, Ukrainian officials said.
Kyiv and its allies dismissed the truce as a PR exercise from Putin.
鈥淭he Easter truce that he announced somewhat unexpectedly was a marketing operation, a charm operation aimed at preventing President Trump from becoming impatient and angry,鈥� French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told the FranceInfo broadcaster.
Ukraine鈥檚 allies will meet in London on Wednesday, a senior Kyiv official told AFP, where they are expected to continue discussions on the contours of a possible deal they could all get behind.
European leaders are scrambling to work out how they can support Ukraine should Trump pull Washington鈥檚 vital military and financial backing.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his team鈥檚 鈥渇irst priority鈥� at the London talks would be the idea of 鈥渁n unconditional ceasefire.鈥�
Zelensky proposed to Russia on Sunday halting missile and drones strikes against civilian facilities for at least 30 days.
While saying he would 鈥渁nalyze鈥� the idea, Putin threw doubt on it 24 hours later by accusing Kyiv of using civilian facilities for military purposes.
He held open the prospect of bilateral talks on the topic, though the Kremlin said there were no fixed plans to engage with Kyiv.
鈥淭here are no concrete plans (to talk), there is readiness from Putin to discuss this question,鈥� Putin鈥檚 spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday.
鈥淚f we are talking about civilian infrastructure, then we need to understand, when is it civilian infrastructure and when is it a military target,鈥� he added.
The talks in London 鈥� a follow-up to a meeting in Paris last week 鈥� come after Russia resumed its aerial attacks.
Russia hit the southern city of Zaporizhzhia with 鈥渢wo guided aerial bombs鈥� on Tuesday, killing one and wounding 23, the regional head said.
Photos from Ukraine鈥檚 emergency services showed the outer walls of an apartment block blown open and a bloodied man being tended to by medics on a stretcher, with bandages around his head and arms.
鈥淥ne guided aerial bomb hit an infrastructure facility, another one hit a densely populated neighborhood, a residential building directly,鈥� Zaporizhzhia Governor Ivan Fedorov said on Telegram.
Russian strikes wounded another six in the southern city of Kherson and seven in Kharkiv, in the north east.
Its army also claimed to have captured a small village in the eastern Donetsk region, where its troops are advancing.
In Paris last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio presented Washington鈥檚 plan for ending the war, before both he and Trump warned Washington鈥檚 patience was running thin and could lead it to withdraw.
Many in Ukraine fear any settlement he brokers could reward Russian aggression.