Ukrainian opposition calls for urgent negotiations between Kiev, Moscow

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The co-chair of the Ukrainian opposition platform, For Life, Yury Boyko, called for speedy peace negotiations between Kiev and Moscow.

In an interview with Rossiya 24 channel, Boyko said that they met today, as a faction in the Verkhovna Rada, and their platform supports holding negotiations as soon as possible, adding that they have sent signals in public and in secret to immediately start negotiations on an urgent end to the conflict.

Boyko expressed his hope that the authorities will engage in negotiations and that an agreement will be signed on the terms of the neutral status, adding, "We will defend the stabilization of the country's neutral status."

Russian MoD: Kiev refused to negotiate with Moscow

After Kiev refused to negotiate with Moscow, all Russian units received an order to resume the advance into the Ukrainian territory in all directions, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesperson Major General Igor Konashenkov confirmed Saturday.

Konashenkov noted that the Russian operation was suspended on Friday during the preparations for talks with Kiev.

"After the Ukrainian side abandoned the negotiation process, all units were ordered today to continue the advance in all directions in accordance with the operation plan," he pointed out.

The Major General also highlighted that Ukrainian nationalists keep placing rocket launchers and artillery in residential areas in Kiev and other cities.

"Our reconnaissance keeps seeing that Ukrainian nationalists are placing rocket launchers and artillery units in residential areas not only in Kiev, but also in other Ukrainian cities," Konashenkov said, underlining that these nationalists are trying to provoke a response strike on civilians.

"Ukrainian nationalist leadership uses the same methods as terrorists," the Spokesperson highlighted, affirming that Russian forces were not striking residential areas.

Kiev could not agree with Moscow's conditions

For his part, Oleksiy Arestovich, adviser to the head of Ukraine's presidential office, claimed Kiev refused to negotiate with Russia because it could not agree with the conditions that Moscow proposed. 

"Ukraine refused to negotiate because the conditions that the Russian side has changed through intermediaries are unacceptable for us," Arestovich justified.

He was quoted as saying by the Strana.ua outlet that Moscow's conditions were "an attempt to force us to surrender.

"We signaled to them that the terms of a possible peace treaty are possible on Kiev's terms, not Moscow's," he added.

Arestovich, however, refused to cite the conditions that Russia had proposed.