Russian strikes on military targets in Ukraine, contacts with US top Kremlin briefing

MOSCOW, August 28. /TASS/. The continuation of the special military operation, possible contacts between the Russian president and US representatives, and Vladimir Putin’s schedule became the main topics of Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov’s Friday briefing.

- Russian President Vladimir Putin will speak with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko on Saturday afternoon.

- No telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US leader Donald Trump is planned at present. "No, there are no such plans for now."

- The president did not meet with the CIA director because contacts took place "with intelligence agencies." "There was no such meeting, no contacts with the president," Peskov said.

- The president is preparing to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. "Preparations for the trip to Bishkek are in progress."

- The program will be filled with both multilateral SCO events and bilateral contacts. "My colleague [Russian presidential aide Yury] Ushakov will hold a briefing and tell you about it. The program will be packed in terms of the SCO agenda itself; the Kyrgyz side prepared very responsibly for this major international event. It will also be rich in terms of the president’s bilateral contacts. There will be many important bilateral meetings over the two days."

- Peace talks on Ukraine are currently on hold. "Regarding peace talks - yes, this issue is currently on hold. There are no new ideas."

- Kiev is aware of Moscow’s demands but does not want to discuss them through peaceful means. "The Ukrainian side knows our demands perfectly well. They do not want to discuss them peacefully. We therefore continue to maintain this positive momentum for us on the battlefield. And the operation continues."

- Russian forces’ advance on the battlefield is clear. "We continue the special military operation, and the advance on the battlefield is evident. Specialists understand perfectly well what this momentum means and what consequences it will ultimately have for the Kiev regime."

- Western media reports about an escalation of the conflict are "the usual scare stories."

- Russia continues to destroy Ukraine’s military infrastructure. "Strikes on Kiev continue systematically and purposefully. We are destroying the military and near-military infrastructure of the Kiev regime. Our servicemen know what they are doing and the means of doing it.".