Russian, Ukrainian Officials Hold Talks02/17 06:14

   Delegations from Moscow and Kyiv were in Geneva on Tuesday for another round 
of U.S.-brokered peace talks, a week before the fourth anniversary of Russia's 
full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

   GENEVA (AP) -- Delegations from Moscow and Kyiv were in Geneva on Tuesday 
for another round of U.S.-brokered peace talks, a week before the fourth 
anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

   However, expectations for any breakthroughs in Geneva were low, with neither 
side apparently ready to budge from its positions on key territorial issues and 
future security guarantees, despite the United States setting a June deadline 
for a settlement.

   Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his government's delegation was 
in Switzerland and Russian state news agency Tass said the Russian delegation 
had also arrived. Talks, to be held over two days, were expected to start later 
in the day.

   Discussions on the future of Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory are 
expected to be particularly tough as U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy, Steve 
Witkoff, and son-in-law Jared Kushner, sit down with the delegations. That's 
according to a person familiar with the talks who spoke to The Associated Press 
on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to talk to 
reporters.

   Russa is still insisting that Ukraine cede control of its eastern Donbas 
region.

   Also in Geneva will be American, Russian and Ukrainian military chiefs, who 
will discuss how a ceasefire monitoring might work after any peace deal, and 
what's needed to implement it, the person said.

   During previous talks in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, 
military leaders looked at how a demilitarized zone could be arranged and how 
everyone's militaries could talk to one another, the person added.

   Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov cautioned against expecting developments 
on the first day of talks as they were set to continue on Wednesday. Moscow has 
provided few details of previous talks.

   Ukraine's short-handed army is locked in a war of attrition with Russia's 
bigger forces along the roughly 1,250-kilometer (750-mile) front line. 
Ukrainian civilians are enduring Russian aerial barrages that repeatedly knock 
out power and destroy homes.

   The future of the almost 20% of Ukrainian land that Russia occupies or still 
covets is a central question in the talks, as are Kyiv's demands for postwar 
security guarantees with a U.S. backstop to deter Moscow from invading again.

   Trump described the Geneva meeting as "big talks."

   "Ukraine better come to the table fast," he told reporters late Monday as he 
flew back to Washington from his home in Florida.

   It wasn't immediately clear what Trump was referring to in his comment about 
Ukraine, which has committed to and taken part in negotiations in the hope of 
ending Russia's devastating onslaught.

   Complex talks as the war presses on

   The Russian delegation is headed by Russian President Vladimir Putin's 
adviser Vladimir Medinsky, who headed Moscow's team of negotiators in the first 
direct peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul in March 2022 and has forcefully 
pushed Putin's war goals. Medinsky has written several history books that claim 
to expose Western plots against Russia and berate Ukraine.

   The commander of the U.S. military -- and NATO forces -- in Europe, Gen. 
Alexus Grynkewich, and Secretary of the U.S. Army Dan Driscoll will attend the 
meeting in Geneva on behalf of the U.S. military and meet with their Russian 
and Ukrainian counterparts, Col. Martin O'Donnell, a spokesman for the U.S. 
commander said.

   Overnight, Russia used almost 400 long-range drones and 29 missiles of 
various types to strike 12 regions of Ukraine, injuring nine people, including 
children, according to the Ukrainian president.

   Zelenskyy said tens of thousands of residents were left without heating and 
running water in the southern port city of Odesa.

   Zelenskyy said Moscow should be "held accountable" for the relentless 
attacks, which he said undermine the U.S. push for peace.

   "The more this evil comes from Russia, the harder it will be for everyone to 
reach any agreements with them. Partners must understand this. First and 
foremost, this concerns the United States," the Ukrainian leader said on social 
media late Monday.

   "We agreed to all realistic proposals from the United States, starting with 
the proposal for an unconditional and long-term ceasefire," Zelenskyy noted.

   The talks in Geneva took place as U.S. officials also held indirect talks 
with Iran in the Swiss city.