Moscow [Russia] September 3 : Russia has launched a massive offensive against cities in western Ukraine, while Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said his country was open to talks but must include "new territorial realities".
The Kyiv Independent reported that Russia launched a new wave of attacks on areas in western Ukraine on the night of September 2 and early morning of September 3.
Explosions were recorded in the city of Rivne (Rivne Oblast, Ukraine) at around 1:15 a.m. on September 3. Ukrainian anti-aircraft fire was also recorded from 2:00 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. the same day in Lviv (Lviv Oblast, Ukraine).
In Kyiv province, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was shot down in the town of Vyshhorod, causing a fire in a residential building, according to Governor Mykola Kalashnyk. No casualties were reported in the attack.
The Ukrainian Air Force said nearly all of Ukraine's provinces were on air strike alert overnight as Russian drones approached. Observers say Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks, despite Moscow's openness to pursuing peace talks.
Russia has not commented on the attack. Russia and Ukraine have always denied any attacks on civilians or civilian infrastructure.
Reuters on September 3 quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying that dialogue with Ukraine will continue but " new territorial realities " must be recognized and new security mechanisms must be formed.
"For peace to be sustainable, new territorial realities. must be recognized and formalized in international legal terms," Lavrov said in an interview with Indonesia's Kompas newspaper , with a transcript posted on the Russian Foreign Ministry's website.
"A new system of security guarantees for Russia and Ukraine must be formed as an inseparable element of the continental security structure, based on equality and indivisibility in the Eurasian region," he said.
The diplomat said the leaders of the Russian and Ukrainian delegations were in direct contact and expected talks to continue.
"Three rounds of talks have taken place in Istanbul (Türkiye) and have achieved certain progress on humanitarian issues, such as the exchange of prisoners and detainees, the repatriation of bodies... In addition, each side has also presented its views on the preconditions for ending the conflict. The heads of delegations are still in direct contact. We expect the negotiations to continue," said Mr. Lavrov.He stressed that resolving the Ukrainian crisis by peaceful means remains Russia's priority.
Regarding the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Vesti Radio on September 2 quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying that Russia is open to "trilateral cooperation" with the US and Ukraine.
The remarks, made during a meeting between President Putin and Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico in Beijing, signal a shift from Moscow's previous stance of rejecting any changes to its oversight of the Ukrainian plant . Details of the possibility of such cooperation have not yet been clarified.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
