Zelensky calls on Putin for face-to-face meeting amid continued mutual attacks

Ukrainian authorities announced that three people were killed as a result of Russian attacks that targeted several areas on Thursday night to Friday, while the Ukrainian military said Russia fired two missiles and 216 long-range drones, confirming that 198 of them were shot down.

According to local authorities, a woman was killed in the Zaporizhzhia region of eastern Ukraine, a 75-year-old man in Kherson in the south, while another woman was killed in the Dnipropetrovsk region as a result of drone attacks and artillery shelling.

Zelensky: We are ready for a ceasefire

On the other hand, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called in an open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin for a face-to-face meeting with the aim of ending the war that has been going on since February 2022.

 He also announced Kyiv's readiness for a comprehensive ceasefire throughout the negotiations, and proposed a full prisoner of war exchange between the two sides.

Zelenskyy said direct dialogue could open the way for a political settlement to the conflict, stressing that Ukraine would continue to defend its territory if no agreement was reached to end the war.

Kremlin: Zelensky  can visit Moscow at any time

The Kremlin said Putin had not yet seen the letter, while Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Ukrainian president could visit Moscow "at any time."

 Putin reiterated his country's readiness to reach an agreement through peaceful means, noting at the same time that Russian forces continue to advance along the front lines.

The Russian president acknowledged the need to strengthen Russia's air defense systems following Ukrainian drone attacks on facilities in the city of St. Petersburg in recent days.

Moscow attacks UN

In another development, Russia has expressed its rejection of the inclusion of its security forces on the UN blacklist of those accused of committing acts of sexual violence in conflict zones.

Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, described the decision as "biased and politicized" and said the information contained in the UN report was not based on sufficient evidence to prove systematic abuses.

The United Nations included Russian security forces on its annual list after documenting hundreds of cases of sexual violence in the context of the Ukraine conflict, based on data from the Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. The report also noted that similar cases of prisoners of war committed against prisoners of war on both sides have been recorded, while confirming that investigations into these violations are ongoing.