The latest attacks come as the Kremlin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that Russian President Vladimir Putin was ready to move towards a peace settlement with Ukraine but that Moscow’s priority was to “achieve our goals”.
“President Putin has repeatedly spoken of his desire to bring the Ukrainian settlement to a peaceful conclusion as soon as possible. This is a long process, it requires effort, and it is not easy,” he said in a televised interview.
It has been nearly three-and-a-half years since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed a new round of talks with Moscow, aimed at restarting negotiations that halted last month.
Previous attempts by Russia and Ukraine to negotiate an end to the fighting have failed to achieve a ceasefire, but have resulted in prisoner swaps.
Zelensky also repeated his readiness to meet Russia’s Vladimir Putin face-to-face, saying: “A meeting at the leadership level is needed to truly ensure peace.”
Ukraine was this week given a boost when US President Donald Trump – who has in the past often expressed support and admiration for Russia’s leader – announced that the US would send “top-of-the-line weapons” to Ukraine via Nato countries.
Trump also threatened Russia with severe tariffs if a deal to end the war is not reached within 50 days, and later told the BBC that he was “disappointed” with Putin but “not done”.
Reacting to this in Sunday’s interview, Peskov said: “Everyone has grown accustomed to his [Trump’s] rather harsh and straightforward rhetoric.
“At the same time, he reaffirms his intention to continue doing everything possible to facilitate a peaceful settlement.”