"Work is underway to establish a buffer zone, a sanitary zone in the Kharkov region. This work will continue until we secure [the town of] Shebekino, the Belgorod Region, and our other areas from such barbaric shelling. Of course, this work will not stop," Peskov told Rossiya 1 reporter Pavel Zarubin.
Peskov added that Russian President Vladimir Putin's peace initiative would be given due consideration.
"There will be no talk of peace at the Swiss conference itself. There will be no search for a peaceful resolution considering the interests of all parties. Peace will not be discussed there. That is the point. Here, the focus is on President Putin's peace initiative. I have no doubt that it will be given very careful consideration," Peskov said.
Despite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's dismissal of the initiative, there are likely to be "more sober heads who will think twice if it is worth waiting for conditions to deteriorate even further," the Kremlin spokesman said.