Negotiators hint at progress before fourth round of Ukraine-Russia peace talks

The fourth round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine began on Monday, and before the talks, officials from both countries hinted at progress after weekend negotiations.

Hopes of de-escalating the war in Ukraine come after a bloody weekend that saw American journalist Brent Renaud killed by Russian gunfire and more than 30 cruise missiles hit a Ukrainian base near Poland, leaving at least 35 people dead. Overnight shellings also occurred in numerous parts of Ukraine hours before the talks.

"Russia is already beginning to talk constructively," Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and a member of the peace talk delegation, said in an online video translated by Reuters. "I think that we will achieve some results literally in a matter of days."

Leonid Slutsky, a member of the State Duma of Russia and a member of the peace talk delegation, echoed Podolyak's assessment, saying that significant progress has been made and draft agreements could soon be possible, according to reports.

Before the peace talks, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk announced that 10 "humanitarian corridors" have been agreed upon and will be open on Monday morning, including from towns near the capital Kyiv and in Luhansk, in eastern Ukraine.