On Monday, April 4, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited liberated towns on the outskirts of Kyiv, where the bodies of hundreds of civilians were uncovered following several weeks of occupation by Russian forces. “With my own eyes I saw Bucha, Irpin, Stoyanka after the occupation. We will do our best to bring them back to life as soon as possible,” Zelensky wrote on his official Telegram channel. While in Bucha — the site of apparent atrocities against civilians — Zelensky told journalists that although it will be difficult to engage in peace talks with Russia, Kyiv will continue to seek a diplomatic end to the war.

On Tuesday, April 26, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres met with President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin. According to the UN’s readout, Guterres and Putin discussed proposals for humanitarian aid and the evacuation of civilians from conflict zones in Ukraine, including besieged Mariupol. “[Putin] agreed, in principle, to the involvement of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross in the evacuation of civilians from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol,” the statement says. Guterres traveled to Russia from Turkey, where he met with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday. The UN Secretary General is scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on April 28. Gueterres requested meetings with both Putin and Zelensky last week, seeking to discuss “urgent steps to bring about peace in Ukraine.”