Russia denies talks with Ukraine over energy facility attacks

Earlier, according to the Washington Post on August 17, Ukraine and Russia were preparing to send delegations to Qatar this month to negotiate a landmark agreement to stop attacks on energy infrastructure on both sides.

The Washington Post said the deal would amount to a partial ceasefire, but talks have been derailed by Ukraine's offensive into Russian territory in the Kursk region for nearly two weeks.

“No one has to reconcile anything because there is nothing to reconcile. There are no direct or indirect negotiations between Russia and Kiev regarding the safety of important civilian infrastructure,” Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said on August 18 when asked about the information about negotiations.

For its part, the Ukrainian government has not yet commented on the matter. The Washington Post reported that the Ukrainian president's office said the summit in Doha had been postponed due to the situation in the Middle East and would take place online on August 22.

Spokeswoman Zakharova later also emphasized the previous statement of Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting with senior security officials to discuss the situation in Kursk on August 12. The leader affirmed that any peace talks with Ukraine cannot take place as long as the country continues to carry out attacks on civilians and threaten nuclear power plants.

President Putin mentioned Ukraine's recent incursion into the Kursk border region, as well as the drone attack that damaged Russia's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Mr Putin said Ukraine's latest actions showed why Kiev refused to reconsider plans for resolving the conflict based on Russia's proposals or the roadmap put forward by neutral parties.

According to RT TV channel, on August 17, the Russian Defense Ministry warned that the country's military would launch an immediate response if Ukraine attacked the Kursk nuclear power plant, located about 90 km from the Ukraine-Russia border. This facility has become the scene of fierce fighting in recent days.

Early on August 6, Ukrainian forces crossed the border into Russia and launched an offensive in the Kursk region. President Putin warned that the enemy would receive an adequate response in Russia's border areas.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on August 16 that the Ukrainian military had lost at least 2,800 soldiers and hundreds of pieces of military equipment, including 41 tanks and 40 armored personnel carriers. The figures could not be independently verified and Kiev has not acknowledged such losses.