Zelensky calls for talks as peace efforts stall

Ukraine and Russia say they had each sent back 146 prisoners of war and civilians

KYIV:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday a meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin would be "the most effective way forward" amid stalled diplomatic attempts to end the war as he celebrated Ukraine's Independence Day.

Ukraine launched drone strikes on Russia, triggering a fire at a nuclear power plant as Ukrainians marked their independence day with the conflict now in its fourth year.

After a push by US President Donald Trump to broker a Ukraine-Russia summit, hopes for peace dimmed when Russia on Friday ruled out any immediate Putin-Zelensky meeting.

But Zelensky said Sunday the "format of talks between leaders is the most effective way forward", renewing calls for a bilateral summit with Putin.

Zelensky vowed to "to push Russia to peace" as he spoke at a ceremony attended by US envoy Keith Kellogg — whom he awarded with the Ukrainian Order of Merit — and other Western officials.

With the war having already claimed tens of thousands of lives, Russia has recently claimed new advances, including taking two villages in the eastern Donetsk region Saturday.

Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky said Sunday that three other villages had been reclaimed in Donetsk, that has emerged as the focal point for peace talks.

Ukraine's Independence Day drone attacks in Russia included one shot down over the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant in western Russia.

Russian authorities said Ukrainian drones had also been shot down over areas far from the front, including Saint Petersburg in the northwest.

Also on Sunday, Ukraine and Russia said they had each sent back 146 prisoners of war and civilians in the latest of a series of swaps that remain one of the few areas of cooperation between the rivals.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on a visit to Kyiv said it was not "the choice of Russia how the future sovereignty, independence, liberty of Ukraine is guaranteed."