MOSCOW — Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday rejected a proposal from Kyiv to extend to 30 days a unilateral three-day ceasefire declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin for early May.
Moscow had seen the offer put forward by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but a number of issues first had to cleared up, Peskov said.
"Without answers to these questions, it is difficult to enter into a long-term ceasefire," he said, adding that this was Putin's position.
Putin listed conditions in March, when U.S. President Donald Trump proposed a 30-day ceasefire. These included a ban on Ukraine using the pause to regroup and rearm its forces and on Western arms supplies to Kyiv. He offered no concessions in return.
On Monday, Putin declared a unilateral ceasefire for May 8 to 11 to coincide with the annual Victory Parade on Moscow's Red Square to mark the end of World War II, which is celebrated in Russia on May 9.
Peskov described the announcement as a "gesture of goodwill," while Zelenskyy said Putin's ceasefire declaration was "another attempt at manipulation."
Russia wants the ceasefire over the war memorial days to be understood as the "start of direct negotiations without preconditions," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a meeting of the foreign ministers of the BRICS states in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Lavrov also criticized the proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, saying that it could be used "to further support the Kiev regime and strengthen its military capabilities."
Girl killed in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk
The exchanges came as Russia continued its attacks on Ukraine.
Earlier, a 12-year-old girl was killed in a Russian drone strike on Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region, a local leader said.
Two adults and a 6-year-old girl were also injured in the attack on the municipality of Hubynykha, according to the regional military governor, Serhiy Lysak. He also reported additional injuries and damage to private homes and infrastructure elsewhere in the region.
In the capital Kyiv, one person was injured and a recreation center was damaged by falling debris, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram.
Ukrainian authorities said Russia launched 100 drones overnight. The Ukrainian Air Force said 37 drones were shot down, while 47 lost contact, mostly due to electronic defense measures.
Ukraine evacuates villages in Dnipropetrovsk
Later in the day, Ukrainian authorities began the forced evacuation of seven villages near the front line in Dnipropetrovsk, as Russian troops advance.
Lysak wrote on Telegram that 26 children are still in the area and must now be evacuated together with their relatives.
For several months, the authorities have been telling people to leave the villages voluntarily.
The areas in question are near the border with the Donetsk region.
Nearly 400 children have already been taken to safety, he said.
The decision was unavoidable because Russia had directed bombs and drones at the people, Lysak said. The forced evacuation is to last a month, he said.
Deaths in Russia's Belgorod
Meanwhile in Russia's Belgorod region, two people were killed and three others injured in a Ukrainian drone strike, according to local officials.
Belgorod Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram on Tuesday that the victims were traveling in a car near the border with Ukraine when the attack occurred.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. In response, Ukraine has targeted military and infrastructure sites inside Russian territory, leading to casualties.
However, the scale of damage and loss in Russia remains significantly lower than the widespread devastation caused in Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
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