Ready for talks with Putin, but if they fail, it could mean World War III: Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned of the potential for the Russia-Ukraine conflict to turn into an all-out global war.

Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview with a US television on Sunday said that he's ready for talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, however, he warned that if the talks fail, things could escalate to a new World War. "Zelensky: 'I'm ready for negotiations with Putin, but if they fail, it could mean World War III.' Zelensky told CNN that he’s ready to negotiate with Putin, but warned that if negotiation attempts fail, it could lead to a new World War," tweeted The Kyiv Independent.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a bill extending martial law in Ukraine, the press service of Ukraine's Parliament said on Sunday. The legislation extended the current martial law for 30 days starting from March 26. Kyiv imposed martial law after Russia launched a special military operation against Ukraine on February 24.

On the other hand, the Russian military stated that it had carried out a new series of strikes on Ukrainian military facilities with long-range hypersonic and cruise missiles. Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said on Sunday that the Kinzhal hypersonic missile hit a Ukrainian fuel depot in Kostiantynivka near the Black Sea port of Mykolaiv.

The strike marked the second day in a row that Russia used the Kinzhal, a weapon capable of striking targets 2,000 kilometres away at a speed 10 times the speed of sound. The previous day, the Russian military said the Kinzhal was used for the first time in combat to destroy an ammunition depot in Diliatyn in the Carpathian Mountains in western Ukraine.

with Agency inputs