Zelensky: Peace Talks, or Russia Will Suffer 'Huge' Losses

Vladimir Putin may have rallied a crowd in Russia on Friday to seemingly support his invasion of Ukraine, but Volodymyr Zelensky was not impressed. In fact, in an overnight video, the Ukrainian president accused Russia of spurring a "humanitarian catastrophe" and once more implored the Russian leader to sit with him for peace talks, reports the CBC. "It's time to meet. Time to talk," Zelensky posted on his Facebook page, along with the video. "It is time to restore territorial integrity and justice for Ukraine. Otherwise, Russia's losses will be so huge that several generations will not be enough to rebound." More from Zelensky, and other developments in the Russia-Ukraine conflict:

• Pressure on Putin: "Meaningful negotiations on peace, on security for us, for Ukraine, are the only chance for Russia to reduce the damage from its own mistakes," Zelensky added in his statement.
• 'Mixed signals': That's how US and European officials frame the general feeling around Zelensky, with "specific elements of any peace deal his government may be discussing with Moscow [remaining] a mystery to Western leaders," per the Washington Post. "We're not ready for capitulation," Zelensky said in an interview earlier this week—yet his top negotiator also said this week that negotiations with Russia look hopeful, and that "we have much confidence that we will have a ceasefire in the coming days."
• A first for Russia? Via the Interfax news agency, a spokesman for Russia's Defense Ministry claimed Saturday that Russia launched its new Kinzhal hypersonic missiles for the first time in Ukraine, hitting a weapons storage site in the western part of the country, reports Al Jazeera.
• Possible shift in plans: Western defense experts warn of signs of a "a cruel and intentional strategy" Russia may now be employing, perhaps giving up on its initial intentions to capture the capital of Kyiv and overturn the government. Now, the plan may involve what one UK defense chief calls a "strategy of attrition," in which "reckless and indiscriminate use of firepower" will be used to wear the Ukrainian people down in cities across the nation, per USA Today. One DC think tank says it's "designed to suffocate Ukraine."
• Humanitarian aid: Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk announced Saturday that Ukraine and Russia have agreed on the opening of 10 humanitarian corridors, including from the hard-hit city of Mariupol and several locations in the regions of Kyiv and Luhansk, reports the AP.
• Refugees: According to the UN's migration arm, at least 3.2 million people have crossed Ukraine's borders into neighboring countries—more than 7% of the population. That's not counting the almost 6.5 million still in Ukraine who are said to have been displaced, per USA Today.

(More Volodymyr Zelensky stories.)