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A U.S.-brokered ceasefire<\/a> between Russia and Ukraine was due to expire on Monday with both sides accusing each other of breaching the 72-hour arrangement, as American and European officials considered how they might steer the warring countries into further talks.<\/p>\n Ukrainian authorities said Monday that Russian drones, bombs and artillery shelling struck civilian areas of the northeastern Kharkiv and southern Kherson regions, killing at least two people and wounding seven others.<\/p>\n Russia\u2019s Defense Ministry on Sunday accused Kyiv of committing more than 1,000 ceasefire violations, state media reported.<\/p>\n Similar ceasefires announced since Russia invaded its neighbor<\/a> more than four years ago have also failed to stop the fighting, and U.S.-led diplomatic efforts<\/a> over the past year have come to nothing.<\/p>\n The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said data from NASA observations indicated military activities decreased but did not stop after Trump announced last Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy had accepted his request for a ceasefire running Saturday through Monday. The move was meant to mark Victory Day<\/a>, the Russian celebration marking the defeat of Nazi Germany.<\/p>\n The ISW noted late Sunday that \u201cceasefires without explicit enforcement mechanisms, credible monitoring, and defined dispute resolution processes are unlikely to hold.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump had said there would also be an exchange of prisoners, declaring that the break in fighting could be the \u201cbeginning of the end\u201d of the war. Zelenskyy said the exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each side is being prepared.<\/p>\n There are no signs that the two sides are ready to budge from their key negotiating positions, however.<\/p>\n Putin wants all of the Donbas region, Ukraine\u2019s industrial heartland, even though his army hasn\u2019t completely captured it, but Zelenskyy won\u2019t surrender it. Zelenskyy has offered a ceasefire and a face-to-face meeting with Putin, which the Russian leader has ruled out until a negotiated settlement is almost finalized.<\/p>\n Putin suggested at the weekend that former German Chancellor Gerhard Schr\u00f6der, who has had close business ties to Russia, could act as a mediator. But German and European officials scotched that possibility even while accepting that the European Union could take a more significant role in peace efforts are being largely sidelined by Washington over the past year.<\/p>\n Even so, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc must get its objectives straight before attempting to negotiate with the Kremlin.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore we discuss with Russia, we should discuss amongst ourselves what we want to talk to them about,\u201d she told reporters in Brussels.<\/p>\n Ukraine\u2019s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha joined EU foreign ministers for the Brussels meeting. \u201cWe have mainstream peace talks under the leadership of the U.S., and we need this track and we need U.S. leadership. But Europe could play also its role,\u201d Sybiha said.<\/p>\n He noted that in recent months Ukraine has improved its performance on the battlefield, reducing the bigger Russian army to a slow and costly slog on the 1,250-kilometer (780-mile) front line, while using its domestically developed long-range drones and missiles to hit targets deep inside Russia.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a new reality on the battlefield \u2026 Ukraine became stronger after the most difficult winter,\u201d Sybiha said.<\/p>\n German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius was the latest senior European official to visit Kyiv, arriving Monday on an unannounced visit that was set to focus on furthering defense cooperation between the two countries.<\/p>\n Prime Minister Evika Silina on Sunday ordered the resignation of Defense Minister Andris Spr\u016bds in the wake of recent drone incidents in the Baltic country.<\/p>\n In a post on X, Silina said Spr\u016bds had \u201clost my trust\u201d following a drone incident that \u201cclearly demonstrated that the political leadership of the defense sector has failed to fulfill its promise of safe skies over our country.\u201d<\/p>\n Spr\u016bds quit, saying it was a domestic political dispute.<\/p>\n Ukraine’s Sybiha said Sunday he spoke again with Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Bra\u017ee about recent drone incidents in Latvia, following investigations that determined Russian electronic warfare had deliberately diverted Ukrainian drones from their intended targets inside Russia.<\/p>\n Sybiha reaffirmed Ukraine\u2019s commitment to working with the Baltic states and Finland to prevent similar incidents, offering the direct involvement of Ukrainian specialists.<\/p>\n Estonia, Poland and Romania have also reported stray drones landing on their soil.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Follow AP\u2019s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/russia-ukraine<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n