Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy yesterday said that peace dialogue with Russia seems more realistic but more time is being required.
Ukrainian officials have raised hopes the war could end sooner than expected, possibly by May, saying Moscow may be coming to terms with its failure to impose a new government by force and running out of fresh troops.
"The meetings continue, and, I am informed, the positions during the negotiations already sound more realistic. But time is still needed for the decisions to be in the interests of Ukraine," Zelenskyy said in a video address on Wednesday, ahead of the next round of talks.
In a hint of a possible compromise, Zelenskyy said earlier Ukraine was prepared to accept security guarantees from the West that stop short of its long-term goal of joining NATO. Moscow sees any future Ukraine membership of the Western alliance as a threat and has demanded guarantees it will never join.
More updates: Russia Ukraine War
Zelenskyy has renewed calls for the NATO to impose a "no-fly zone" over the country. However, neither the NATO nor United States President Joe Biden have agreed to the demand, arguing it will place them in a direct conflict with Russia.
Meanwhile Moscow’s forces stepped up their bombardment of Kyiv, and an estimated 20,000 civilians fled the encircled port city of Mariupol by way of a humanitarian corridor.
Russian troops seized a hospital in Mariupol and took about 500 people hostage, during another assault on the city late Tuesday, regional leader Pavlo Kyrylenko said.