KYIV-- Russia continued to pound the Ukrainian civilian population, killing at least nine people in attacks throughout the country, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy repeated he'd be willing to meet Russia’s Vladimir Putin at the upcoming G20 summit -- something the Kremlin called “impossible.”
Russia has intensified air strikes throughout Ukraine over the past two months, with the Kremlin hitting power plants and other infrastructure as the potentially brutal winter months loom on the horizon.
Civilian deaths were reported in several cities and regions on September 12 as Ukraine struggles to secure its population amid a shortage of air defense weapons badly needed to intercept high-speed Russian missile.
In Kramatorsk in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, the city of some 150,000 people -- which has been under Russian military pressure for months -- local authorities said Russian forces attacked private cars, killing three people in three incidents over a 90-minute period.
"These are not military targets," the city council said in a statement. "They are ordinary civilian cars. People were going about their business."
Vitaliy Bunechko, governor of Ukraine's Zhytomyr region west of Kyiv, said a Russian strike hit a grocery store, killing two people in the town of Zvyahel.
Ivan Fedorov, governor of Zaporizhzhia region, said two people were killed and 11 injured in assaults on Zaporizhzhia and other communities.
Oleksandr Vilkul, head of Kryviy Rih's military administration, said two people had been killed in overnight attacks on the city by drones and missiles.
Russia’s military claimed its forces targeted Ukrainian steel maker Zaporizhstal in Zaporizhzhia, an Interpipe Steel complex in Dnipro, and several plants in Kryviy Rih.
The claims could not independently be verified.
In response to Russian attacks, Ukraine has hit energy facilities and warehouses, often deep inside Russia, causing acute energy shortages throughout the country, while both sides have targeted each others' shipping in and around the Black Sea.
Zelenskyy Willing To Meet In Miami
In a interview with German broadcaster Deutsche Welle released on September 12, Zelenskyy said he would be willing to meet with Putin for peace talks at the December 14-15 Group 0f 20 (G20) gathering in Miami.
"Yes, of course," he said when asked about a meeting.
"We have to come. We have to meet, to speak, and make decisions. It's not about words. What I will tell him or what he wants to tell me, it doesn't matter. Results matter."
The Kremlin immediately rejected Zelenskyy's offer.
"It is impossible," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told AFP, repeating Russia’s demand that such a face-to-face meeting could only take place in Moscow.
"There is a readiness to meet him in Moscow," said Peskov, who noted that it has not been decided yet whether Putin will attend the G20 gathering.
Zelenskyy has long rejected the possibility of meeting in Moscow at a time when his country is facing a full-scale invasion by Russian forces.
“He can come to Kyiv," Zelenskyy told ABC News in reference to Putin.
"I can't go to Moscow when my country's under missiles, under attack, each day. I can't go to the capital of this terrorist."
Washington is attempting to kick-start long-stalled talks on Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II. US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited Moscow and Kyiv last week, while US President Donald Trump and Putin have conducted phone talks in recent days.
In the Deutsche Welle interview, which took place on September 11 while he was in Canada, Zelenskyy said Witkoff and Kushner's visit was a "good signal" and that it was important the two had made a trip to Kyiv as well as Moscow.
Zelensky has said he he plans to meet Trump in late September, although details have not been confirmed.
Trilateral Talks
Meanwhile, a top Ukrainian official suggested US-Russia-Ukraine talks could resume as early as next month.
Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Ukrainian presidential office, said a new round of trilateral talks on ending the war may take place in October.
Speaking to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency on the sidelines of the Yalta European Security forum in Kyiv, Budanov said Ukraine is preparing for a new meeting in the trilateral format, but he did not provide details.
Earlier, Budanov told The New York Times that the negotiation process would likely intensify after Russia's State Duma elections on September 18–20 and the US midterm elections on November 3.
The last direct talks between Russia and Ukraine came in February in Switzerland, with the US acting as mediator and with Budanov being a part of the Ukrainian delegation.
