This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
KYIV — Russian air strikes targeted several Ukrainian cities early on July 22, leaving one child dead and at least two dozen injured a day ahead of a fresh round of peace talks expected in Turkey.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address late on July 21 that preparations for another prisoner exchange with Russia, along with the peace talks planned for July 23, were under way.
Two days earlier, Zelenskyy said he had sent Moscow an offer to hold a new round of talks in the coming week after negotiations between the countries last month made no progress toward ending the ongoing war.
The Kremlin has yet to confirm the date or location for the next round of talks, saying only that it was waiting for more details while adding that the two sides still held “diametrically opposed” positions on ways to end the long, deadly conflict.
If the sides do meet in Turkey, it would be the first face-to-face gathering in seven weeks. The Turkish government said the talks will be held in Istanbul.
“There is our draft memorandum — there is a draft memorandum that has been handed over by the Ukrainian side. There is to be an exchange of views and talks on these two drafts, which are diametrically opposed so far,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on July 21.
The Kremlin has said it welcomes new talks but that the “most important thing for us is to achieve our goals. Our goals are clear, obvious. They have not changed.”
It also has insisted that any peace agreement sees Ukraine cede control and withdraw from four regions that Russia illegally annexed in September 2022 but never fully captured.
Kyiv must also renounce its bid to join NATO and accept strict limits on its armed forces — demands Ukraine and its Western allies have flatly rejected.
Russian state news agency TASS quoted an unnamed source as acknowledging the next round of talks was likely to be in Turkey but could be held on July 24 or 25.
US President Donald Trump in recent weeks has voiced frustration over the lack of progress on a cease-fire and last week gave Moscow a 50-day deadline to agree to a deal or face tougher sanctions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has turned down calls from Zelenskyy to meet him in person and has often questioned the elected Ukrainian leader’s legitimacy.
Previous rounds of talks were held in Istanbul, on May 16 and June 2. Those talks led to prisoner swaps and the exchange of remains of fallen soldiers but no apparent movement on a potential cease-fire.
Meanwhile, during the night of July 21-22, Russia struck the Ukrainian regions of Sumy in the northeast, Odesa in the south, and Kramatorsk in the east.
According to Oleksandr Honcharenko, the head of the Kramatorsk military administration, a boy born in 2015 was killed and five others wounded when a Russian glide bomb struck an apartment building.
The city of Sumy also saw several wounded when five apartment buildings caught fire during an air attack, while more than 20 drones attacked the coastal city of Odesa, leaving more than a dozen casualties, including a child.
Despite mounting evidence to the contrary, Russia claims it is not targeting civilian infrastructure with its air strikes.
Ukrainian authorities and international agencies, such as the United Nations and the European Union, have accused Russia of intentionally targeting civilians, in what they say amounts to war crimes.
