Moscow:  Russian President Vladimir Putin has no interest in a peace talk with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy when the latter has handed over his handwritten letter to Putin through unofficial Russian peacemaker Roman Abramovich, Putin reportedly said, “ Tell him I will thrash them”.

In the handwritten letter, Zelenskyy put some conditions for peace talks to end the war, The Times report said.

Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich had accepted Ukraine’s request to help in the negotiations to bring an end to the war which began on February 24. The Chelsea Football Club owner has reportedly been flitting between Istanbul, Moscow and Kyiv to relay messages from one president to the other, India Today report stated.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Roman Abramovich and Ukrainian peace negotiators suffered symptoms of suspected poisoning after a meeting in Ukraine’s capital city Kyiv earlier this month.

Abramovich and the Ukrainian negotiators' health have improved from before and they are currently out of danger, the report stated.

A senior Ukrainian official said at least 5,000 people have died in the besieged city of Mariupol since the invasion began.

Turkey initiates peace talks today  

The first face-to-face talks between Russia and Ukraine are due to take place in Turkey on Tuesday. Ukraine's top objective is to secure a ceasefire, although both it and the United States are sceptical of a major breakthrough, the Reuters report said.

"The minimum programme will be humanitarian questions and the maximum programme is reaching an agreement on a ceasefire," Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said. "We are not trading people, land or sovereignty," he added.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces have "liberated" the Kyiv suburb of Irpin, the country's interior minister said.

Russian attacks near Ukraine's capital Kyiv have cut power to more than 80,000 homes, officials said. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, more than 3.5 million people fled the country.