Ukrainian Armed Forces Reserve Major Oleksii Hetman stated this on Espreso TV."In almost all wars that have lasted for some time, there have been truces. They were not always fully observed. We had many truces with Russia during the ATO [Anti-Terrorist Operation], but they never once honored them. This is to be expected," he said.According to Hetman, one must be very careful here and in no case agree to a partial truce."Because talks have started, 'let's have an air truce.' God forbid, we cannot agree to this, because it means that for the Russians, the logistical component of the war is now very important—to bring everything in—and they see that we can disrupt this quite well. And so the talks began: 'Let's have an air truce.' No. In any case, we have no right to go for this. I understand that people will now say that I am in favor of our cities being shelled," the expert noted.He added that no one is proposing that."The Russians are shelling them anyway. This is a matter for our air defense, for our partners, but if we do not destroy their ability to concentrate on the front line, our service members will suffer losses, and they will have more losses than if we continue doing what we are doing now. And I am sure that the civilians who are dying—especially children, the elderly, women—this is a great sorrow, a great tragedy. But we have no right to stop for several weeks to allow the Russians to accumulate a larger number of missiles and drones, and to bring everything they need to the front line," the expert stressed.Hetman emphasized that the people, the men and women who are fighting, are the same citizens of Ukraine as those in the rear, and they have no less right to life than the people who are in the big cities."Therefore, an air truce is a path that will lead to more, not fewer, of our citizens dying, both in the rear and on the front line. Therefore, it is a trap, and we must not fall into it," he concluded.BackgroundOn Wednesday, August 6, U.S. President Donald Trump's special representative, Steve Witkoff, arrived in Moscow, where he met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.Presidents of Ukraine and the U.S., Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump, held a phone call with participation of European leaders.President Donald Trump could meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin as early as next week, a White House official said on Wednesday.On August 7, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held talks with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.The U.S. President will sit down for talks with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, but only if Putin first agrees to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.According to Axios, which was later confirmed by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, U.S. Special Representative Steve Witkoff will hold a video conference. Senior officials from Ukraine, France, Germany, the UK, Finland, and Italy will join the conference. During the conversation, Witkoff will talk about his meeting with Vladimir Putin on August 6 and discuss further steps.Later, Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that the conversation had taken place and that they had agreed to continue it the following day.U.S. President Donald Trump has stated that a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is not a prerequisite for negotiations with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.The Trump administration is working to set up talks between President Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.On August 7, it became known that Russia and the U.S. had agreed on a meeting between their leaders — Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. Later, the dictator said that the UAE was a likely venue for talks with the U.S. leader.On August 8, Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. President Donald Trump may be willing to accept Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s terms to formally recognize Russian control over parts of occupied Ukrainian territories.