I open the calculator on my phone to count how many civilians have been killed in Ukraine over the past five days. The number 38 stares back at me. I hope I haven’t missed anyone. An apartment block in Kyiv. A five-story building in Pavlohrad. A bus in Marhanets. Russian missiles and drones found Ukrainians in their beds, on their way to work or school. In Kherson, the traffic lights had to be switched off to stop Russian drones striking civilian cars as they stopped at junctions. The city remains a training ground for fresh Russian recruits. Hunting real people teaches them more quickly than hitting lifeless dots on a screen.
Yet the peace talks continue. Steve Witkoff, the US Special Envoy to the Middle East, has met Vladimir Putin today for a fourth round. Putin greeted him with a smile, tapping him on the shoulder like an old friend. Watching them exchange pleasantries feels grotesque, and so Ukrainian eyes are turned elsewhere – towards Kyiv.
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