Peace still elusive after 4 years of fighting

KYIV/MOSCOW — Russia and Ukraine mark four years of fighting on Tuesday in a conflict that has uprooted millions, decimated infrastructure, and killed large numbers on both sides.

The United States has pushed to end the fighting, but mediation efforts have run into sharply conflicting demands.

Russian President Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine to pull its troops from parts of the eastern Donetsk region Kyiv still controls, abandon its bid to join NATO, curb its military and grant official status to the Russian language, among other demands Ukraine has rejected.

Moscow left the door open to Kyiv's prospective European Union membership, but it firmly ruled out any European peacekeepers deployed to Ukraine as part of a settlement.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wants a ceasefire along the current front line, but Putin rules out a truce, demanding a comprehensive peace agreement.

Zelensky said the White House has set a June deadline for the conflict's end and will likely pressure both sides to meet it.

However, even as Washington appears eager for a peace deal before the US midterm elections, challenges remain.

With Putin insisting on Ukraine's pullback from Donetsk and Zelensky ruling it out, a quick deal appears unlikely.

Zelensky was also skeptical about a US compromise to turn the eastern region into a free economic zone.

Conflict continues

Russian strikes killed three people and wounded several others overnight across Ukraine, regional authorities said on Monday.

In the south, two people were killed when Russian drones hit industrial, energy and civilian infrastructure in the Odesa region, Governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram.

At least three people were wounded, he added.

The attacks followed a barrage of Russian missiles and drones that struck energy infrastructure, railways and residential areas across Ukraine on Sunday, with Kyiv among the hardest hit.

"The main target of the attack was the energy sector," Zelensky said of the attack. "Ordinary residential buildings were also damaged, and there is damage to the railway."

The air force said Russia had fired 50 missiles and 297 drones at Ukraine, of which 33 and 274 respectively had been shot down.

The Russian army said it had carried out a mass strike targeting facilities used by Ukraine's military, saying all targets were hit.

Meanwhile, authorities in Russia's western Belgorod region said two men had died after a Ukrainian drone strike.

Russia said on Sunday that it launched countermeasures against a string of attacks in just 24 hours.

"Air defense systems destroyed five guided aerial bombs, seven rockets from the US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system, and 326 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles," the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Agencies - Xinhua