Ukraine-Russia War Live: Russia Says Not Trying To “Overthrow” Ukrainian Government

New Delhi: 

Russia said Wednesday negotiations with officials from Kyiv to resolve the conflict in Ukraine were making headway and underscored that Moscow’s troops were not working to topple the Ukrainian government.

“Some progress has been made,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during a press briefing, referring to three rounds of talks with Kyiv. She said the Russian military had not been tasked to “overthrow the current government.”

Russia and Ukraine on Wednesday agreed to a day-long ceasefire around a series of evacuation corridors to allow civilians to escape the fighting.

Ukraine Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Moscow vowed to respect the truce from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm around six areas that have been heavily hit by the fighting, including regions near Kyiv, in Zaporizhzhia in the south, and some parts of Ukraine’s northeast.

President Joe Biden announced a ban on US imports of Russian oil on Tuesday, in the administration’s most far-reaching action yet to punish Moscow for invading Ukraine.