Ukraine President Zelenskyy warns of third world war if talks with Putin fail

Kyiv, Mar 20: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned of a third world war if negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin fail.

"I'm ready for negotiations with him. I was ready for the last two years. And I think that without negotiations we cannot end this war," Zelenskyy was quoted as saying by CNN.

"I think that we have to use any format, any chance in order to have a possibility of negotiating, possibility of talking to Putin. But if these attempts fail, that would mean that this is a third World War," the Ukrainian President added.

Russian troops on Sunday stepped up bombardment of the besieged port city of Mariupol, with Ukrainian officials saying a strike flattened an art school used as a shelter by hundreds of civilians. Mariupol continues to bear some of the war's greatest suffering.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier on Sunday accused Russia of war crimes over its siege, describing the attack on the city as "a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come".

Zelenskyy, addressing the nation, said Ukraine was interested in peace and that ongoing talks with Russia were "not simple or pleasant, but they are necessary". He has requested to directly meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, to no avail.Ukrainian authorities said the Russian military bombed an art school in Mariupol where about 400 people had taken refuge.

Authorities in the eastern city of Kharkiv said at least five civilians were killed in the latest Russian shelling, with the victims including a nine-year-old boy. Kharkiv has been under siege since the start of the Russian invasion and faces relentless Russian artillery.

The two countries have held several rounds of negotiations, but remain divided over key issues. Moscow wants Ukraine's demilitarisation and Kyiv is demanding security guarantees.

with PTI inputs