Volodymyr Zelensky has warned it would be “suicidal” for Europe to offer concessions to the Kremlin to stop its invasion of Ukraine, after Moscow demanded the West enter into direct talks to end the war.
The Ukrainian president also criticized some European leaders, without specifying who he was referring to, for putting “strong” pressure on Ukraine to compromise, and chided some for having cozy relations with Vladimir Putin.
‘We need enough weapons, not support in talks. Hugs with Putin won’t help. “Some of you have been embracing it for 20 years and things are only getting worse,” Zelensky said.
kyiv is currently increasing pressure on its allies to increase support for its fight against Russia following Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election.
Trump boasted throughout his campaign that he could end the conflict in a matter of hours and repeatedly criticized American aid to kyiv, and Zelensky was quick to congratulate the Republican on his victory yesterday as he tried to court his favor.
Volodymyr Zelensky was photographed today shaking hands with French President Emmanuel Macron.
A residential building on fire after a missile attack in Mykolaivka, Donetsk region, today
Russian President Vladimir Putin is pictured in the Kremlin during a remote ceremony to launch the Arktika-class nuclear icebreaker Chukotka on November 6.
Putin has demanded that Ukraine give up more territory in the east and south as a precondition for peace talks, while kyiv has repeatedly ruled out ceding territory to Moscow in exchange for peace.
Ukraine and many in the West fear that any deal rewarding Putin would only embolden the Kremlin leader and lead to more aggression.
Speaking to European leaders at a summit in Hungary, Zelensky criticized those pressuring him to give in to some of Putin’s hardline demands.
“There has been a lot of talk about the need to give in to Putin, back down and make some concessions,” Zelensky said. “It is unacceptable for Ukraine and suicidal for all of Europe.”
Zelensky met today with Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron, among other European leaders, as he works tirelessly to shore up support for his country’s war effort amid fears that US aid could be withdrawn under the Trump administration.
His comments come after United Nations chief Antonio Guterres came under fire for appearing to bow while shaking Putin’s hand.
Footage also showed Guterres hugging the dictator’s ally, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, at the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan.
Russia demanded Thursday that kyiv’s allies enter into negotiations with Moscow if they want to stop brutal attacks on Ukrainians.
Keir Starmer and Zelensky shake hands during the 5th summit of the European Political Community in Budapest
Tankers of the 33rd independent mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian Ground Forces fire with the Leopard 2A4 tank during field training in Ukraine
The head of Russia’s Security Council, Sergei Shoigu, said the West faced a choice between starting direct talks with Moscow or continuing the “destruction” of Ukraine’s population.
“Now, when the situation in the combat theater does not favor kyiv, the West faces a choice,” Shoigu said at a meeting with defense officials from other former Soviet states.
“Continue financing (kyiv) and the destruction of the Ukrainian population or recognize the current realities and start negotiating,” the former defense minister said.
They were some of the first comments from a Russian official since it was confirmed that Trump had been elected president of the United States.
Zelensky has previously said that without US help, Ukraine would lose the war.
Its outnumbered and outgunned army is already on the defensive in the eastern Donbas region, where Russian forces have been slowly advancing for months.
Moscow said on Thursday that its forces had wrested control of Kreminna Balka, a pre-war village with a population of fewer than 50 people in the Donetsk industrial region, where Ukrainian defenses have been repulsed time and again.
President Zelensky was quick to congratulate Trump yesterday on his election victory.
Meanwhile, Ukraine faced another night of aerial bombardment across the country, including the capital kyiv, ahead of what could be the country’s harshest winter yet.
Ukrainian media reported that authorities in the Donetsk region were preparing to announce mandatory evacuations of seven more villages in the region, which the Kremlin says would be part of Russia by 2022.
Moscow’s overnight drone strike on Ukraine damaged buildings in the southern Black Sea city of Odessa, where AFP journalists saw residents inspecting cars and destroyed residential buildings at dawn.
And at least three people were killed in the airstrikes overnight and Thursday: one each in the Kherson, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia regions, according to local officials.
The air force said it had shot down 74 drones deployed by Russia in 11 different regions, out of a total of 106 drones launched by Moscow against Ukraine.