Mykolaiv: A Russian rocket hit the regional administration building in the southern Ukrainian port city of Mykolaiv, killing at least seven people and wounding 22, local authorities said.
Eighteen of the wounded were pulled from the rubble by rescue workers, who continue to work at the scene, the emergencies service said in an online post.
The regional government headquarters of Mykolaiv, Ukraine, following a Russian attack, on Tuesday.Credit:AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris
The blast occurred on Tuesday (AEDT) as Russia promised to scale down military operations around Ukraine’s capital and north, while Kyiv proposed adopting neutral status, in confidence-building steps that were the first signs of progress towards negotiating peace.
Their talks took place in an Istanbul palace more than a month into the largest attack on a European nation since World War II. Russia’s invasion has been halted on most fronts by stiff resistance from Ukrainian forces who have recaptured territory even as civilians are trapped in besieged cities.
Thousands of people have been killed or injured, nearly four million have fled Ukraine, and Russia’s economy has been pummelled by sanctions.
“In order to increase mutual trust and create the necessary conditions for further negotiations and achieving the ultimate goal of agreeing and signing (an) agreement, a decision was made to radically, by a large margin, reduce military activity in the Kyiv and Chernihiv directions,” Russian Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin told reporters.
Russian Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky, left, and the Head of the Ukrainian Servant of the People faction Davyd Arakhamia pose for media during the peace talks.Credit:Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Press Service
He made no mention of other areas that have seen heavy fighting, including around Mariupol in the southeast, Sumy and Kharkiv in the east and Kherson and Mykolaiv in the south.
Some analysts noted that Russia’s promise to reduce fighting mostly covered areas where it has been losing ground.
“Does ‘we’ll drastically reduce military operations around Kyiv’ equal ‘we’re getting our ass kicked, transitioned to a hasty defence?’” tweeted Mark Hertling, a retired US lieutenant general and former commander of US forces in Europe.
Missile strike in Mykolaiv
Footage from the state rescue service showed a gaping hole in the side of the building, with firefighters extinguishing a fire where the rocket hit and the wounded being put onto ambulance stretchers.
There was a blood patch visible in the debris, and shattered glass and upturned furniture strewn on the floor in the offices inside the building.
“This is just a nightmare. A girl died on my floor. What can I say? Are you kidding? I hugged her, two minutes passed, and she passed,” said a woman who was helped out of the building by rescuers.
“They destroyed half of the building, got into my office,” regional governor Vitaliy Kim said.
Ukrainian servicemen stand in trenches at a position north of Kyiv.Credit:AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda
Russian forces have attacked Ukraine’s southern ports including Kherson, Odesa, Mykolaiv and Mariupol as they try to cut Ukraine off from the Black Sea and establish a land corridor from Russia to Crimea, the peninsula Russia seized in 2014.
Kim said there was an upside to the strike – it suggested Russia had given up trying to take over the city.
Peace in sight?
Ukrainian negotiators said that under their proposals, Kyiv would agree not to join alliances or host bases of foreign troops, but would have security guaranteed in terms similar to “Article 5”, the collective defence clause of the transatlantic NATO military alliance.
They named Israel and NATO members Canada, Poland and Turkey as countries that may give such guarantees. Russia, the United States, Britain, Germany and Italy could also be involved.
The proposals, which would require a referendum in Ukraine, mentioned a 15-year consultation period on the status of Russian-annexed Crimea. The fate of the southeastern Donbas region, which Russia demands Ukraine cede to separatists, would be discussed by the Ukrainian and Russian leaders.
Kyiv’s proposals also included one that Moscow would not oppose Ukraine joining the European Union, Russia’s lead negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said. Russia has previously opposed Ukrainian membership of the EU and especially of NATO.
Medinsky said Russia’s delegation would study and present the proposals to President Vladimir Putin.
To prepare a peace agreement, Medinsky later told the TASS news agency, “we still have a long way to go”.
The Ukrainian negotiators called for a meeting between Putin and President Volodymyr Zelensky. Medinsky said that could take place when foreign ministers were ready to initial an agreement.
Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who is sanctioned by the West over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, made a surprise appearance in Istanbul.
Abramovich showed no signs of a reported suspected poisoning early this month.
The Russian oligarch sat in the front row of observers of the talks wearing a blue suit, a Turkish presidential video showed.
A spokesman for Abramovich did not respond to a request for comment.
Ukraine’s government advised its negotiators not to eat or drink at the Russia talks in Istanbul.
“I advise anyone going for negotiations with Russia not to eat or drink anything, preferably avoid touching surfaces,” said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in an interview on national TV.
The Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland and the Czech Republic – all EU member states – announced expulsions of Russian diplomats on Tuesday. Russia expelled diplomats from the three Baltic states in a tit-for-tat move.
Reuters
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