Putin accuses Ukraine of terrorism following fatal train accidents

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of terrorism in relation to two fatal train accidents in Russia over the weekend.

"The blow was deliberately aimed at the civilian population," Putin said during a government session in Moscow, according to the state-run TASS news agency. He accused Ukraine of seeking to block talks on an end to the war.

Last weekend, two trains suffered accidents in the Kursk and Bryansk regions bordering Ukraine after bridges were blown up. Seven people died and dozens were injured in the passenger train derailed near the city of Bryansk.

While these accidents were discussed in detail, there was no information on Russian media about the Ukrainian attacks on military airbases using remotely targeted drones.

Putin once again rejected calls for a ceasefire in the war with Ukraine, whether for 30 or for 60 days.

"Why should they be emboldened by allowing them a break from fighting?" he queried. He also backed Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who has said Russia should continue to hold talks with a view to achieving its war aims.

In Kiev, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky offered an immediate ceasefire that should last at least until a meeting with Putin. If no de-escalation emerged from a meeting of this kind, "the ceasefire will end on the same day," he told journalists.

Zelensky rejected the memorandum put forward by the Russian side in talks in Istanbul on Monday in which it listed demands for an end to the war. He termed it an ultimatum. Russia's demands could not be met, in particular its territorial demands, he said.