नवीनतम
Russia slams Zelenskyy ahead of Trump talks
NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is due to meet President Donald Trump in Florida this weekend, Russia has accused him and his EU backers of seeking to "torpedo" a US-brokered plan to stop the fighting.
Sunday's meeting to discuss new peace proposals comes as Trump intensifies efforts to end Europe's worst conflict since World War II, one that has killed tens of thousands since February 2022.
The 20-point plan would freeze the war on its current front line but open the door for Ukraine to pull back troops from the east, where demilitarised buffer zones could be created, according to details revealed by Zelenskyy this week.
Ahead of the talks, AFP journalists reported several powerful explosions in Kyiv on Saturday, and authorities warned of a possible missile attack. "Explosions in the capital. Air defence forces are operating. Stay in shelters!" Kyiv's mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram.
Ukraine's air force announced a countrywide air alert and said drones and missiles were moving over several regions including Kyiv. Zelenskyy's office said earlier that a meeting with Trump is planned for Sunday in Florida, where the US leader has a home.
Trump, speaking to news outlet Politico, said about Zelenskyy's plan that "he doesn't have anything until I approve it", adding: "So we'll see what he's got." Zelenskyy meanwhile said he held telephone talks on Friday with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz and a host of other European leaders.
A spokesperson for Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the leaders "reiterated their unshakeable commitment for a just and lasting peace for Ukraine and the importance that talks continue to progress towards this in the coming days".
The new plan formulated with Ukraine's input is Kyiv's most explicit acknowledgement yet of possible territorial concessions and is very different from an initial 28-point proposal tabled by Washington last month that adhered to many of Russia's core demands. Part of the plan includes separate US-Ukraine bilateral agreements on security guarantees, reconstruction and the economy. Zelenskyy said those were changing on a daily basis.
"We will discuss these documents, security guarantees," he said of Sunday's meeting. "As for sensitive issues, we will discuss (the eastern region of) Donbas and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and we will certainly discuss other issues," he added.
Russia signalled its opposition to the plan ahead of the Florida talks. The Kremlin said Friday that foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov had held telephone talks with US officials, and deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov criticised Zelenskyy's stance.
