Ukrainian president welcomes Russian overtures, but says ceasefire must come before peace talks
Kyiv, May 11 (AP): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday welcomed Russia's offer for direct peace talks, but insisted there must be a full, temporary ceasefire in place before negotiations can start.
Zelenskyy, writing on X, called Russian President Vladimir Putin's counter-offer to start talks without a ceasefire a “positive sign”, and said “the entire world has been waiting for this for a very long time".
He added, however, that "the very first step in truly ending any war is a ceasefire”.
Meanwhile, Russia resumed mass drone attacks in Ukraine early on Sunday, after its self-declared 3-day pause expired.
Russia launched 108 attack drones and simulator drones from six different directions, Ukraine's Air Force said on Sunday. It said 60 drones were shot down and another 41 simulator drones failed to reach targets due to Ukrainian countermeasures.
The Ukrainian president appeared to insist on his proposal to start a 30-day unconditional ceasefire on Monday. “There is no point in continuing the killing even for a single day. We expect Russia to confirm a ceasefire — full, lasting, and reliable — starting tomorrow, May 12th, and Ukraine is ready to meet,” Zelenskyy said.
Putin in remarks to the media overnight effectively rejected that ceasefire offer and proposed restarting direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday instead “without preconditions”. He said a ceasefire might be agreed on during the negotiations.
Putin's counteroffer came after leaders from four major European countries threatened to ratchet up pressure on Moscow if it does not accept an unconditional 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine that they offered on Saturday in a strong show of unity with Kyiv.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in comments aired by Russian state TV on Sunday, called Putin's proposal “very serious” and said it “confirms a real intention for find a peaceful solution”.
“The goals of the talks are clear: to eliminate the root causes of the conflict. And also to ensure the interests of the Russian Federation,” Peskov said.
It is a positive sign that the Russians have finally begun to consider ending the war. The entire world has been waiting for this for a very long time. And the very first step in truly ending any war is a ceasefire.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 11, 2025
There is no point in continuing the killing even for a single…
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Jamshedpur man among crew of LPG vessel back from West Asia, family heaves sigh of relief
Jamshedpur (PTI): A family in Jharkhand's Jamshedpur heaved a sigh of relief after learning that the Indian-flagged LPG vessel Shivalik, on which their son was working, had safely reached Gujarat's Mundra port after crossing the Strait of Hormuz amid the conflict in West Asia.
Mithilesh Tripathy said his only son, Ansh Tripathy, who serves as the second engineer on the vessel, was responsible for monitoring the ship's technical operations during the journey through the strategically crucial maritime corridor.
Tripathy said he last spoke to his son over a WhatsApp call about four to five days ago, when the vessel was leaving Qatar.
"They were instructed to maintain a safe distance from the Strait of Hormuz until they received the green signal from headquarters. The Indian government was negotiating with Iranian authorities to ensure safe passage," Tripathy told PTI.
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A former flight engineer with the Indian Air Force, Tripathy later worked at Uranium Corporation of India in Jadugora near Jamshedpur. He now lives in a residential society near Pardih in the city.
Speaking about his son, Tripathy said Ansh completed his schooling in Jamshedpur and Jadugora, pursued mechanical engineering at BIT, and later graduated as a marine engineer from Kochi. He joined the Shipping Corporation of India around 2014-15.
"Before leaving Qatar, Ansh told me they were heading towards the Indian Ocean. That was all he said," he added, noting that he did not discuss the number of crew members on board.
Tripathy said the family remained anxious after hearing about the war in West Asia.
"We were extremely worried about Ansh and the crew members since the war broke out in the region. We were glued to the TV for updates," he said, expressing relief after hearing that the ship had reached Mundra port safely.
"It was a very painful time, but we were confident that if my son and the crew returned safely, it would be due to the efforts of PM Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar," he said.
Tripathy said that while people may hold different views about the tensions in West Asia, his experience in the Air Force helped him understand the realities of operating in a conflict zone.
Two Indian-flagged LPG carriers, Shivalik and Nanda Devi, with 92,712 metric tonnes of LPG, crossed the Strait of Hormuz early on Saturday following negotiations between India and Iran.
Shivalik arrived at the Mundra Port on Monday with 46,000 metric tonnes of LPG ordered by Indian Oil Corp Ltd, officials said.
While 20,000 MT will be unloaded at Mundra, 26,000 MT will be unloaded at Mangaluru, they said.
Nanda Devi is scheduled to reach Gujarat's Kandla port on Tuesday, they added.
These two ships were among the 24 ships stranded on the west side of the strait since the war broke out in the region.
Besides the 24 on the west side of the strait, four others were stranded on the east side.
India imports about 88 per cent of its crude oil, 50 per cent of its natural gas and 60 per cent of its LPG needs. Before the US-Israel strikes on Iran on February 28 and Tehran's retaliation, more than half of India's crude imports, about 30 per cent of gas and 85-90 per cent of LPG imports came from West Asian countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The conflict has led to a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the main transit route for Gulf energy supplies.
