Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reacted to statements the day before by Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, who said that Russia is ready to negotiate with Ukraine, but according to him there is no 'desire' on the Ukrainian side to resolve legal issues.
In his reaction, the Ukrainian president stated that Putin was "afraid" of negotiations to end the war, after the Russian president ruled out the possibility of direct talks with his Ukrainian counterpart, writes A2 CNN.
"Today, Putin once again confirmed that he is afraid of negotiations, is afraid of strong leaders and does everything possible to prolong the war," Zelenskyy said.
Putin on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of speaking directly with Zelenskyy, whom he called "illegal" to lead the talks.
"You can negotiate with anyone, but because he is an illegal, he has no right to sign anything. But if he wants to participate in negotiations, I will allocate suitable people who will conduct these negotiations," Putin told Russian journalists, A2 CNN reports.
Because of the war, Ukraine is under martial law, during which the Ukrainian constitution does not allow elections. Ukraine has warned against being excluded from any peace talks between Russia and the US, accusing Putin of wanting to "manipulate" Donald Trump, the US president.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones targeted oil and energy facilities in western Russia, officials and media reported on Wednesday, with an oil refinery burning in Kstovo in Nizhny Novgorod, east of Moscow. In the western Smolensk region, which borders Belarus, there was a "massive" drone attack and air defense systems destroyed a drone that threatened a nuclear power facility, the governor, Vasily Anokhin, said. Dozens of other drones targeted the Bryansk region that borders Ukraine and the Tver region that borders Moscow region to its south, regional governors said. Flights were suspended for security reasons at Kazan airport in the Republic of Tatarstan, 830 km east of Moscow, officials said.
The US transferred about 90 Patriot air defense interceptors from Israel to Poland this week for subsequent delivery to Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said that numerous humanitarian projects in Ukraine had suspended operations due to Donald Trump's freeze on foreign aid and that Kiev would replace funds where possible.
“Today I have instructed government officials to report on those US support programs that are currently suspended. These are humanitarian programs. There are many projects. We will determine which of them are critical and need solutions now. We can provide some of this funding through our public finances. We will definitely support the priority items, those that have to do with Ukrainian children, our veterans and programs to protect our infrastructure.”
(A2 Televizion)
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