Volodymyr Zelenskyy renews offer to meet with Vladimir Putin directly
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KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday renewed his offer to meet with Russia's Vladimir Putin and negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, but hopes of progress were low as delegations prepared to hold another round of talks.Russian forces, meanwhile, pounded four Ukrainian cities in nighttime attacks that officials said killed a child.Putin has spurned Zelenskyy's previous offers of a face-to-face meeting to end Europe's biggest conflict since World War II. But the Ukrainian leader insists that lower-level delegations like the ones expected for talks in Istanbul on Wednesday don't have the political heft to stop the fighting. The sides remain far apart on how to end the war begun by Russia's full-scale invasion on Feb 24, 2022."Ukraine never wanted this war, and it is Russia that must end the war that it itself started," Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that "a lot of work needs to be done before having a detailed discussion on a possibility of high-level meetings," effectively scrapping hopes of a summit any time soon. He didn't provide a date for the Istanbul talks. Ukrainian and Western officials have accused the Kremlin of stalling in talks in order for its bigger army to capture more Ukrainian land. Russia currently holds about 20 per cent of Ukraine.Zelenskyy's announcement late Monday that the negotiations would take place generated little hope of progress. That is despite the Trump administration's efforts to push forward peace efforts, which have moved slowly because Putin is reluctant to budge from his demands.
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Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
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Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
Ukraine aid row: EU withholds $1.7 billion; Zelenskyy's new bill faces internal and external pressure
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Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
EU to withhold aid to Ukraine over corruption concerns
KYIV: President Zelensky's anti-corruption policies have provoked Ukraine's first anti-govt protests since the Russian invasion in 2022. Now, it seems, they may cost the country a portion of its foreign aid from the EU, in a clear rebuke from the bloc, once a staunch ally. The EU said Friday it would withhold 1.5 billion euros from an overall fund of 4.5 billion euros whose disbursement is dependent on achieving good governance standards and that can't be used for military purchases. The funding can be restored if Ukraine meets certain benchmarks. Zelensky had no public comment on the aid cut, which nevertheless was a setback for Ukraine's prez, who is depending on European financial support to fill gaps left by the Trump govt's refusal to underwrite Ukraine's war effort. The EU's decision capped a tumultuous week for Zelensky, who first pushed a measure through parliament that stripped the independence of two anti-corruption agencies, raising protests from foreign leaders as well as the Ukrainian people. He then reversed course, submitting a new bill to parliament to restore the agencies' independence. That calmed the street protests, but could not head off the EU's aid cut.
