Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is holding talks with former U.S. President Donald Trump at his Florida residence, as part of renewed efforts to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.
By Stefan J. Bos
Zelenskyy traveled to the United States seeking progress toward ending the nearly four-year-old conflict, but major questions remain over whether Ukraine would be asked to concede territory.
It is still unclear whether Kyiv would consider giving up areas in eastern and south-eastern Ukraine, including Donetsk, which is claimed and partly occupied by Russia, and Zaporizhzhia, home to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant and part of the land route linking Russia to Crimea.
During a brief stop in Canada ahead of his U.S. visit, Zelenskyy struck a cautiously optimistic tone, saying Ukraine had agreed to about 90 percent of a U.S.-backed, 20-point peace proposal.
Ukraine insists on security guarantees
Despite that progress, Zelenskyy stressed that any agreement must include strong security guarantees from the United States and its allies.
“We need two things: pressure on Russia and sufficiently strong support for Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said. “We will speak about defense. Last week we had positive steps in diplomacy, but we cannot live under the illusion that this allows us to have less defense.”
He reiterated those demands in talks with Canada’s prime minister and during phone calls with other world leaders.
Moscow, however, warned that any European peacekeepers deployed to Ukraine would be considered legitimate targets by Russian forces.
Kyiv hit by deadly overnight attack
Zelenskyy’s diplomatic push comes after Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, was struck by a massive overnight barrage of hundreds of Russian drones and missiles, killing at least one person and injuring dozens of others, according to Ukrainian officials.
A resident of a damaged apartment building, Olena Karpenko, described the terror of the night.
“There was shelling all night. We stayed inside, hiding in the corridor,” she recalled. “In the morning we heard explosions — first at a power plant, then a stronger one. The windows started shaking and our house was hit. We saw windows blown out and a fire starting, and we began evacuating.”
Holding a small white dog in her arms, Karpenko broke down in tears. “I can’t believe the whole world sees this and can’t stop it. I heard a man burning — his scream is still in my ears. I can’t believe it.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin told Russian media on Sunday that Moscow would achieve all its objectives by force if Ukraine refused what he described as a peaceful settlement.
