The Kremlin said it remains interested in continuing peace talks over Ukraine despite a deadly Russian missile attack on Kiev last night, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
According to Ukrainian authorities, at least 15 people, including four children, were killed in the attack. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as a response to diplomatic efforts to end the war.
When asked if there was a contradiction between Moscow's desire for progress in peace talks and the attack itself, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented that the two sides continue to trade blows. However, he said, Russia still prefers to achieve its goals through diplomacy.
Peskov stressed that the Russian armed forces are targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure and related facilities, denying that the attacks are directed against civilians. He also accused Ukraine of continuing to strike Russian infrastructure, including civilian infrastructure.
"The special military operation continues. You see that the Kiev regime also does not stop with attacks, often against Russian civilian infrastructure," Peskov said.
"The Russian armed forces are fulfilling their tasks. They continue to attack military and military-related facilities. The strikes are successful, the targets are destroyed, and the operation continues. At the same time, Russia remains interested in a negotiation process aimed at achieving our goals through political and diplomatic means," he added.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military reported that it had carried out drone strikes on two Russian refineries overnight as part of an ongoing campaign to target key sectors of the Russian economy, particularly the oil sector, which is of central importance to the Russian president. Russia confirmed that one of the refineries had been hit, but the blaze had been brought under control.
Peskov responded by saying that Russia's domestic fuel market was fully secured and the situation was under control.
As for the possibility of a halt to the airstrikes between Russia and Ukraine (which Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has hinted at as a possible option), Peskov said that no agreement had been reached at the moment and that any negotiations should be conducted discreetly.