Moscow to await 'action' after Kyiv's talks plan

Moscow will wait for concrete actions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday while commenting on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's proposal of possible talks with Russia.

Russian representatives should be present at a second peace conference on Ukraine, which is scheduled to be held in November, said Zelensky.

In a recent interview with the BBC, Zelensky also said talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin were possible, despite the decree in force in Ukraine banning such talks.

"What exactly is behind these words? What specific plans are we discussing? What actions are being proposed in this regard?" Peskov asked, noting it was too early to judge and necessary to wait for specific actions.

Meanwhile, the spokesman said Washington would likely keep supporting Ukraine, with the financial burden increasingly being placed on its "European subordinates".

Western aid to Kyiv would "not contribute to the resolution of the Ukrainian conflict, but on the contrary will prolong it", said the spokesman, adding that it would not affect the outcome of Russia's special military operation in any way.

Russian Ambassador to Belarus Boris Gryzlov said the decision of incumbent United States President Joe Biden to quit the presidential race will affect the Ukrainian crisis.

"The European Union and NATO, for their part, will be waiting for the outcome of the US election before taking any serious steps," the diplomat said.

Oil supply

After Kyiv placed Russian energy giant Lukoil on the sanctions list, stopping its supplies to Hungary and Slovakia, the two countries have asked the European Commission to mediate a consultation procedure with Ukraine, Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Monday.

Slovakia and Hungary have increased pressure on Kyiv after they said last week they had stopped receiving oil from Lukoil via Ukraine. Hungary receives 2 million metric tons of oil from the Russian group annually, accounting for around a third of its total oil imports, Szijjarto said.

The two countries have initiated a consultation with the European Commission, he said, adding the commission had three days to respond.

If the consultation procedure does not yield any result, Hungary and Slovakia would take the issue to an international court of their choosing, he said.

A spokesperson for the European Commission said it had received a request from Hungary and Slovakia and was studying it.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On the front line, Ukraine's Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Monday that Russian forces were staging assaults to try to advance toward the town of Pokrovsk, a logistics hub in the east, and that there was active fighting taking place along the entire front line.

Russian forces captured two villages in the east over the weekend and another one on Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry said.