Ukraine Says Not Refusing Talks With Russia, But Not Ready For Ultimatums

Ukraine on Saturday denied suggestions that it was refusing to negotiate a ceasefire with Russia but said it was also not ready to accept ultimatums or unacceptable conditions.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, told news agency Reuters Ukraine has prepared a negotiating position but was faced with impractical negotiating conditions from Russia.

"It was yesterday that the aggressive actions of the armed forces of the Russian Federation escalated, up to evening and night mass air and missile strikes on Ukrainian cities," he said in a message.

"We consider such actions only an attempt to break Ukraine and force it to accept categorically unacceptable conditions," he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)