Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has proposed a three-way summit with Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in a bid to stress Moscow into ending its three-yearlong invasion of Ukraine.
Russian President Putin rejected calls to fulfill Zelenskyy in Türkiye earlier this month and the Kremlin has stated a gathering between the 2 leaders would solely occur after some sort of “agreement” is reached.
The U.S. president has expressed frustration at each Putin and Zelenskyy for not but putting a deal to finish the warfare.
The two sides have traded waves of large aerial assaults in current weeks, with Ukraine firing nearly 300 drones at Russia in a single day, the Defense Ministry in Moscow stated.
“If Putin is not comfortable with a bilateral meeting, or if everyone wants it to be a trilateral meeting, I don’t mind. I am ready for any format,” Zelenskyy stated in feedback to journalists on Tuesday that have been printed Wednesday.
The Ukrainian chief stated he was “ready” for a “Trump-Putin-me” assembly and likewise urged Washington to hit Moscow with a bundle of hard-hitting sanctions on its banking and power sectors.
“We are waiting for sanctions from the United States of America,” Zelenskyy stated.
“Trump confirmed that if Russia does not stop, sanctions will be imposed. We discussed two main aspects with him – energy and the banking system. Will the U.S. be able to impose sanctions on these two sectors? I would very much like that.”
The Ukrainian chief had beforehand appeared to precise frustration at Washington for not having introduced recent sanctions on Moscow after Russia rejected a coordinated Western enchantment for a right away cease-fire.
Trump over the weekend referred to as Putin “crazy” after a large Russian barrage killed a minimum of 13 individuals throughout Ukraine.
And on Tuesday, he went on blasting on the Russian chief.
“What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD. He’s playing with fire!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social community.
Russia ‘amassing’ troops
Despite months of U.S.-led diplomacy, the 2 sides seem no nearer to putting a deal to finish the three-yearlong warfare, triggered by Russia’s February 2022 invasion.
Tens of hundreds have been killed, a lot of japanese and southern Ukraine has been destroyed, and Moscow’s military now controls round a fifth of Ukraine’s territory, together with the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014.
Hours after Zelenskyy spoke, Ukraine unleashed considered one of its largest ever drone barrages on Russia, the place officers reported solely minimal harm from the assaults.
Moscow’s three main worldwide airports have been pressured to droop flights for hours in a single day amid the barrage, aviation authorities stated.
Ukraine stated that Russia launched greater than 900 drones within the three days as much as Monday. Thirteen civilians have been killed in assaults Sunday, together with three youngsters.
On the battlefield, Zelenskyy stated Russia was “amassing” greater than 50,000 troops on the entrance line across the northeastern Sumy border area, the place Moscow’s military has captured a number of settlements because it seeks to ascertain what Putin has referred to as a “buffer zone” inside Ukrainian territory.
Zelenskyy additionally stated that Ukraine is but to obtain a promised “memorandum” from Russia on its calls for for a peace deal.
Ukraine has accused Russia of dragging out the peace course of following the primary direct talks in additional than three years between negotiators from the 2 sides earlier this month in Istanbul.
Zelenskyy is because of go to Germany on Wednesday for talks with Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has pledged muscular backing for Kyiv in its struggle in opposition to Russia.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated on Wednesday that particulars on a second spherical of negotiations can be introduced quickly.
Source: www.dailysabah.com