Russia and Ukraine’s top diplomats have used a high-level conference in Turkey to once again trade accusations of violating a tentative US-brokered deal to pause strikes on energy infrastructure, underscoring the challenges of negotiating an end to the three-year-old war.
The two foreign ministers spoke at separate events at the annual Antalya Diplomacy Forum, a day after US envoy Steve Witkoff met with with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss peace prospects.
Ukraine’s European allies on Friday promised it billions of dollars to help keep fighting Russia’s invasion.
While Russia and Ukraine both agreed in principle last month to implement a limited 30-day ceasefire, they issued conflicting statements soon after their separate talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia.
Today, Captain Pavlo Ivanov was tragically killed during an F-16 combat mission. The guy was only 26. My condolences to his family and to all of Pavlo’s brothers-in-arms.Military officials provided the necessary reports on this combat situation. We are establishing all the…— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 12, 2025
They differed on the start time of halting strikes and alleged near-immediate breaches by the other side.
“The Ukrainians have been attacking us from the very beginning, every passing day, maybe with two or three exceptions,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, adding that the Kremlin would provide the US, Turkey and international bodies with a list of Ukraine’s attacks during the past three weeks.
A representative of the Russian foreign ministry separately told state media on Saturday that Russia has been sharing intelligence with the US regarding more than 60 supposed breaches of the deal by UKraine.
Lavrov on Saturday insisted Russia had stuck to the terms of the deal.
His Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha fiercely contested that claim, saying Russia had launched “almost 70 missiles, over 2200 (exploding) drones and over 6000 guided aerial bombs at Ukraine, mostly at civilians,” since agreeing to the limited pause on strikes.
“This clearly shows to the world who wants peace and who wants war,” he said.
Ukraine has endorsed a broader US ceasefire proposal but Russia has effectively blocked it by imposing far-reaching conditions.
European governments have accused Putin of dragging his feet.
“Russia has to get moving” on the road to ending the war, US President Donald Trump posted on social media on Friday.
He said the war is “terrible and senseless”.
Lavrov on Saturday reiterated that a prospective US-backed agreement, also discussed in Saudi Arabia, to ensure safe navigation for commercial vessels in the Black Sea could not be implemented until restrictions are lifted on Russian access to shipping insurance, docking ports and international payment systems.
Details of the prospective deal were not released but it appeared to mark another attempt to ensure safe Black Sea shipping after a 2022 agreement that was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey but halted by Russia the following year.
Ukraine’s air force said a second F-16 fighter jet supplied by its allies has been lost and its pilot, 26-year-old Pavlo Ivanov, killed.
Ukraine’s General Staff said the F-16 crashed while repelling a Russian missile strike.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Saturday offered condolences to Ivanov’s family, saying “We are proud of our soldiers. We will give a strong and apt response”.
Ukraine said the first F-16 was shot down last August after it intercepted three Russian missiles and a drone.
Since last July, Ukraine has received multiple batches of the fighter jets from Denmark and the Netherlands, with US approval.
Their total number has not been disclosed.
Meanwhile, Russian drones killed at least two civilians in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region on Saturday, according to local governor Oleksandr Prokudin.
https://thewest.com.au/news/conflict/russia-ukraine-trade-blame-on-failing-to-pause-strikes-c-18353785
