Ukraine says it will demand ‘immediate’ ceasefire during ‘hard discussion’

KYIV — Ukraine says it will demand an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops during a fourth round of negotiations to end more than two weeks of fighting after Moscow launched an invasion of Ukraine.

“Peace, an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of all Russians troops — and only after this can we talk about regional relations and about political differences,” Kyiv’s lead negotiator Mikhailo Podolyak says in a video statement posted to Twitter.

Unlike earlier negotiations held on the Belarus border, these talks will be via video link.

It will be a “hard discussion,” Podolyak writes on Twitter. “Although Russia realizes the nonsense of its aggressive actions, it still has a delusion that 19 days of violence against (Ukrainian) peaceful cities is the right strategy.”