Russia says Ukraine refuses to cease fire in Kostiantynivka area | News of the Russia-Ukraine war

Russia says its troops have captured the city of Kostiantynivka in Donetsk, a claim Ukraine denies.

Russia’s Defense Ministry is criticizing Ukraine for refusing to halt shelling in the eastern city of Kostiantynivka to allow Moscow to hand over the bodies of dead Ukrainian soldiers.

The ministry said on Sunday that it planned a six-hour ceasefire in and around Kostiantynivka on Monday to facilitate distribution and gave Kyiv until 0900 GMT on Sunday to respond.

Russia’s claims are the latest in a verbal war over Kostiantynivka. Russia said on Friday that its forces had taken control of the city, a move Moscow has long sought across the Donetsk region.

Ukraine denied that the city had fallen, saying its forces were in control.

“Of course, this is not true,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X saying that Russian forces are now in control of the city. “This is another Russian lie, trying to get some news out.”

“If Kostiantynivka was under Russian control, then maybe Putin would have no problem meeting me there to find a way to end the war,” he added.

On Russian radio, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov scoffed at the meeting, saying Zelenskyy said Kostiantynivka was already part of Russia and the Kremlin’s invitation for Zelenskyy to meet with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow remained on hold.

Zelenskyi last month he wrote to Putin looking for a face-to-face conversation like a to peace, but he has refused any meeting in the capital of Russia.

Elsewhere, one person was killed in a Ukrainian attack in Russian-held Crimea, Russian officials said early Sunday. Two others were injured in the attack, including one in critical condition, Kremlin District Governor Sergei Aksyonov wrote on Telegram without giving details.

The latest attacks came after Zelenskyy and Putin spoke with Donald Trump about ending the war, which is in its fifth year.

President of the US he offered help Putin will find a way to end the war, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said. Trump made the announcement during a nearly 90-minute phone call on Saturday to discuss the war ahead of a NATO summit in Ankara, Ushakov added.

Zelenskyy also spoke with Trump on Saturday and said they discussed the 1,200km (745 miles) military front line.

“There is real hope of ending the war and American determination will have an important meaning,” he wrote in the Telegraph. He said they agreed to continue the discussion on NATO meeting this week.

A US official confirmed that Trump will meet with Zelenskyy on Wednesday to discuss “how we can end the war”.

“Battlefields have been frozen for the past few months and neither side is making progress,” said the official. “The president feels it is very important to end this.”