Reuters
Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian and US officials will meet in Saudi Arabia next Monday for peace negotiations after the Kremlin confirmed US-Russia talks on the same day.
The Ukrainian leader said Russian President Vladimir Putin “should stop making unnecessary demands that only extend the war.” Moscow’s demands include the complete end of military aid to Ukraine.
Zelensky also warned that removing Ukrainian NATO membership from the table – Putin’s saying he could not negotiate for peace would be a “great gift to Russia.”
He also rejected the White House claim that in his call with President Donald Trump, he discussed transferring ownership of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants to the United States.
The latest talks come when the US tries to mediate a ceasefire between the two countries after more than three years of battle.
Both Zelensky and Putin agreed to a ceasefire during their conversation with the US in principle, but due to conflicting circumstances, it has not yet been realized.
Russian leaders recently agreed to halt broadcast strikes on energy infrastructure, but strikes from both sides continue.
Zelensky said the Ukrainian delegation would give the US a list of infrastructure facilities they wish to be protected from Russian strikes in a speech Monday.
When asked about promoting the US ownership of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants at a joint press conference with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gar Stole in Oslo, Norway, Zelensky ruled out this entirely.
He said that in a call with Trump, the two discussed the Zaporidia power plant, currently under Russian control, but emphasized that “all nuclear power plants belong to the people of Ukrainians.”
However, he said it is open to the US to bring factories from Russia to invest or modernize.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously said that US ownership would be “the best protection for its infrastructure.”
Zelensky was asked if he was ready to make territorial concessions to Russia, which has been in Russia since 2014, especially Crimea. “It’s the Ukrainian Peninsula,” he said, adding that Crimea is a “essential part of his country.”
Crimea is internationally recognized as part of Ukraine despite its claim to take up and annex the Russian occupation.
As Ukraine considers this to be the only way to stop Russian invasion, Zelensky said when asked what a ceasefire would look like, the first stage must be a ceasefire on land and sea.
Trump was able to extract a deal on a ceasefire on energy infrastructure, which Russia has repeatedly targeted – there was no call from Putin on Tuesday, but nothing more.
Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Alexander Gurshko, said earlier this week that Moscow would ensure NATO removed Ukraine from its membership and that Ukraine remains neutral in its peace agreement.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses dismissed the prospect of Ukraine joining the military alliance, saying it was “not a realistic outcome of the negotiated settlement.”
In the meantime, the war that began with a full-scale Russian invasion in 2022 will continue. The Ukrainian drone attack injured 10 people and attacked the airfield in Russia, but two people died overnight.
Speaking to EU leaders via video link at a meeting in Brussels, Zelensky asked European leaders to “as soon as possible” to at least 5 billion euros (£418 million) of shells, saying that ongoing support for Ukraine was “significant.”
He also said the EU must be involved in peace talks and urged Europe to “not alleviate pressure on Russia on the war.”
After Trump and Zelensky engaged in public matches in the oval offices at the war, the White House announced a suspension to Ukrainian military aid.
The suspension from Ukraine’s major military supporters was lifted a few days after talks between the US and Ukraine.
Reuters
Ir Kiel’s starmet said “It’s time for planning” in postwar Ukraine
Meanwhile, after proposing an “ambitious coalition” to enforce peace in Ukraine after the contract, British Prime Minister Kierstama said that if there is a “security arrangement”, the peace agreement will only be “lasted” if there is a “guarantee agreement.”
His comments came during a visit to a military base in London after holding a closed door meeting with senior military officers from over 20 countries involved in the coalition’s planning.
Sir Kiel said the UK and its allies are moving from “political momentum” to “military planning.”
He states:
“We’ve had it because it happened before. I’m absolutely clear in my mind that it’s going to happen again.”
