Ruminations: "The Killing Does Not Stop"

"Ukraine needs clear guarantees of its security but, so far, we see the Russian side is not fulfilling even elementary agreements on humanitarian corridors for the exit of civilians from the encircled cities."
"Civilians are simply being destroyed with Russian weapons."
"Look at what is happening to them in Ukraine. NATO is many times stronger than our armed forces and yet Ukraine has held back a full scale offensive by one of the world's largest armies for a second week. Do you really think Russia has the potential for World War Three? Stop this self-hypnosis."
"Of course we want peace. But this does not mean that we will agree to the dismantling of our freedom and our democracy, our natural European aspirations. If Russia takes a position based on reality, not on unrealistic ambitions, then progress is possible."
"So far, we've seen that the Russian side does not ensure the fulfillment of things that are promised. Russian troops shoot people when they try to leave the occupied cities."
"Russian troops are shelling routes along which an exit of people could be organized, particularly in Mariupol and Volnovakha. So I have to state that the Russian side manipulates these rounds more than it actually invests in the negotiations."
"Negotiations are not a date to get to know each other and look for something in common. Contact is a false goal ... you need to be result-oriented. On Sunday, in Irpin, a city on the outskirts of Kyiv, Russian troops opened fire on civilians who were trying to get out of the city. A total of eight people died, including a family with two children ... In Kyiv, a Russian cruise missile was shot down over Ukraine's most important children's hospital ... the killing does not stop."
"President Zelenskyy has repeatedly offered direct negotiations with Vladimir Putin. So far, we have not received a positive response. Why? Is it possible that on the Russian side there is a lack of confidence in Putin?"
"If the West is afraid to create a humanitarian no-fly zone, then there must be a decision to transfer combat aircraft to us. We are, of course, very grateful to our partners for the sanctions but the ongoing massacres of civilians in Ukraine show that existing sanctions are not enough.You have to understand Russia is actually a very poor country. With the exception of some large cities and a rather small segment of people who benefit from the flow of oil and gas dollars, most Russian citizens live a very difficult, hopeless and poor life."
"They will feel the pain of the rise in prices and loss of opportunities but this is not new -- they've always been made to live like that."
Mikhail Podolyak, chief negotiator, Ukraine

A Ukrainian firefighter works at an apartment building after it was hit by artillery shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 14. (Vadim Ghirda/AP)

The negotiations between Ukraine and Russia to put a stop to the ongoing invasion seem pointless as long as Russian troops have their standing orders to continue attacking Ukrainian cities, and the expectation by Moscow is that they will continue their attacks, including the shelling of corridors established to enable civilian evacuation of bombarded cities, in the hope of saving lives from an enemy invader that appears to be flouting all civilized rules of warfare meant to protect civilian lives.

Russian forces continue to fire on civilians attempting to evacuate through these humanitarian corridors, effectively trapping vulnerable people within partially occupied cities coming under continual fire. Ensuring that those citizens remain in place in inhumane insecurity, facing a shortage of food and medical supplies, where their electricity and heating have been cut off and potable water resources are faltering.

Mikhail Podolyak, isolated in a bunker in Kyiv, accuses Russia of "manipulating" the talks hoping to lead to peace, and in the process promising cease-fires that never come to fruition; a severe betrayal of any expectation that Ukraine negotiators can rely on a serious response to their efforts to sway Russian negotiators to send their offers of conciliation back to Moscow for serious consideration. Even slight agreements on temporarily holding back fire to enable people to reach safety has not been communicated to the troops.

Mr. Podolyak is one of President Zelenskyy's most trusted aides, entrusted with leading three rounds of negotiating talks with the Russian negotiating delegation. His experience during those talks has led him to hold out faint hope for a breakthrough to be achieved any time soon. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claims that should Ukraine agree to cede Crimea to Russia, recognize Donetsk and Luhansk as independent and that done, commit to not joining NATO or the European Union, the conflict could conclude "immediately".

A firefighter carries a hose in front of a residential building that was hit by a shell in the Obolon district in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 14. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)

In contrast to Mr. Podolyak's position of skepticism over Russia's willingness to reasonably debate the critical issues with a view to stopping the violence, the Russian lead negotiator Vladimir Medinsky, claims progress has been achieved. To achieve any measure of progress between the two sides however, seems as remote as it was before the talks were initiated, according to this senior Ukrainian negotiator.

And in a spirit not of optimism but of faint hope, Mr. Podolyak repeated his country's request for a NATO no-fly zone over Ukraine's skies. "Thousands of houses, hundreds of businesses, a significant part of them destroyed from the air, by missiles and combat aircraft. If the Russian troops did not have such support from the air, they would not have been able to wreak such havoc."

When the issue came up during an interview of the death of a fellow Ukrainian negotiator, Denis Kireev, Mr. Podolyak was silent. Reports from Russia claimed the negotiator to have been killed as he was being arrested for treason. "This man died performing a task in the interests of the Ukrainian state", he responded. Without going into the obvious explanation that doing anything at all to favour Ukraine over Russia merits the charge of treason on Russia's part.

"Most of our cities that Russia planned to capture are fighting bravely. In cities that are temporarily occupied, there are mass protests ... this is real civic heroism: people coming out unarmed with a national flag against armed invaders and demanding that they get out of our country."Ukraine will not give up its freedom and will not give up its democracy", he averred with pride.