Kyiv growing confident of peace deal as Biden labels Putin ‘a pure thug’

Ukraine's chief negotiator in talks with Moscow has said Kyiv is increasingly confident of securing peace on its own terms as the Kremlin's invasion force becomes bogged down and Russia slips deeper into economic and diplomatic isolation.

US president Joe Biden is expected to urge Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to distance himself from Moscow when they talk on Friday, after describing Russian president Vladimir Putin as a "war criminal" and "a murderous dictator, a pure thug".

Ukrainian officials said at least 21 people were killed and 25 injured when Russia bombed a school and community centre in the northeastern town of Merefa on Thursday, but there was cautious optimism that people sheltering in the basement of a theatre in the besieged port of Mariupol had survived a bomb strike on Wednesday. Some 350,000 people remain trapped in the devastated city, however.

Three weeks after Russia poured tens of thousands of troops and heavy weaponry over the border, its forces have failed to take Ukraine’s biggest cities and face hostility from civilians in the southern towns that they have entered.

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More amenable

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said Russia's mounting problems and heavy losses on the battlefield were making it more amenable to Kyiv's demands in tentative peace talks.

"Russia invaded Ukraine on a large scale to deliver an ultimatum. It was with this attitude that its representatives came to the first talks. Today there is no trace of this self-confidence. They are fully aware of the trouble they are in," he said.

An immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of Russian troops were vital elements of any peace deal, and Ukraine’s future safety must be guaranteed by several states that would have clearly defined security obligations to Kyiv, he added.

“For now, both the Russian and Ukrainian delegations are sticking to their positions. Agreeing on the points at issue can take anywhere from a few days to a week and a half. During this time, we should move closer to drawing up a peace agreement.”

Guarantors

Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said during a visit to Ukraine that it wanted his country to be one of those guarantors, along with Germany and the five permanent members of the United Nations security council: the US, China, France, Britain and Russia.

Meanwhile, Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has indicated Ireland would support targeting Russian energy exports with sanctions.

While insisting any action would ultimately be done on a unified basis, he said: “If it were proposed that energy products were to be limited or banned, we would support that.”

Mr Coveney travels to Poland for talks with his counterpart today. He indicated the €500 million European Peace Facility is likely to be doubled next week, with Irish contributions rising to €22 million – for non-lethal support.

Mr Coveney said there could be up to 22,000 Ukrainian refugees in Ireland by the end of March, with 600-800 arriving daily.