Ukraine will cease negotiating with Russia if military men at Azovstal get killed

Kiev is ready to pull out from negotiations with Moscow if Ukrainian military men in Mariupol are killed, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said.

"If they (Russia — ed.) kill people who can be exchanged or simply released, wounded and injured, military and civilians, if they destroy them, I don't think that we will be able to conduct any diplomatic negotiations after that,” the Ukrainian president said.

Earlier, Zelensky warned that Ukraine would put an end to negotiations with Russia should Ukrainian security officials at Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol get killed in the fighting.

Zelensky sees the negotiations with Russia as an opportunity to stop the hostilities. Ukraine wants the Russian troops out of the country to where they were on February 23, i.e. before the beginning of the special operation.

"I understand that despite the fact that they (the Russians — ed.) are destroying all our bridges, I believe that not all bridges have been destroyed yet, figuratively speaking,” the Ukrainian president said.

Earlier, Zelensky cast doubts on the success of peace talks with Russia. He repeatedly expressed his readiness to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and called for a peaceful settlement of the conflict.

• On April 22, Putin said that the possibility of direct contact with his Ukrainian counterpart depended, in particular, on the results of the ongoing negotiations.
• Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov in turn said that it makes no sense to negotiate with the Ukrainian team as the people in the Kiev administration follow orders from Washington. Therefore, Russia needs to negotiate with the Americans, Lavrov said.