Russia pounds Ukraine towns on Xmas; ready for talks, says Putin

Kyiv/Moscow: On Christmas day, Russian forces pounded many towns in Ukraine, but this was amid Russian President Vladimir Putin saying Moscow is ready for talks, reports Reuters.

Russian forces sent more than ten rockets at Ukraine's Kupiansk district Kharkiv region. It rained shell attack over 25 towns at the Kupiansk-Lyman frontline. In Zaporizhzhia, around 20 towns were hit, Ukraine's top military command reported.

Reuters reports that though Putin is keeps extending his readiness for peace talks, there seems no end to the 10-month conflict in the near future.

On Sunday, Putin told a television interview that Moscow is ready to negotiate with everyone involved in the conflict for "acceptable solutions". But "that is up to them". He said that it is not his party but the opposing front that is not ready for dialogue.

To this, Kyiv replied that Putin needed to fall back to the reality that it is Russia who refuses to talk. Moscow does not wish to negotiate and aims to avoid the responsibility, said Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky's advisor.

The relentless attacks on Ukraine's power infrastructure have left Ukrainians in the dark and cold.

The advisor said that Russia lost everything it could this year. Though darkness will prevent them from making new gains against the occupiers, they must be ready for any scenario, he said.

Meanwhile, blasts were heard at Russian defence bases, allegedly out of Ukrainian attacks. As per Russian claims, Kyiv employed drones to attack two Russian airbases near the city of Saratov, some 730 km southeast of Moscow.

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