After an extraordinary exchange with President Donald Trump at the White House, Ukrainian President Voldimir Zelensky appeared on Fox News and said the public line was “not good for both sides.” But Zelensky said Trump, who claims Putin is ready to end a three-year war of crushing, needs to understand that Ukraine cannot change its attitude towards Russia in the dime. Zelenskyy added that Ukraine will not take part in peace negotiations with Russia until there is a security guarantee against another attack. “It's very sensitive to our people,” Zelensky said. “And they just want to hear that America (where) is by our side, America is with us, not with Russia, but with us. That's it.”
After a nervous exchange, just before departing for the Mar-a-Lago resort in South Florida over the weekend, Trump told reporters he wanted an “immediate ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine, but expressed doubt that Zelensky was ready to achieve peace. Trump also posted on his social media site that Zelensky “decided” saying he was “not ready for peace.” “He downplayed the United States in his precious oval office. He can come back when he is ready for peace,” Trump wrote. US military support for Ukraine now appears to be hanging from balance, but talks over the mineral trade have collapsed.
CNN US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Zelenkey's “Apologies” Wasting our time and for a meeting like it was over. ”
After the clash, European leaders rushed to protect Zelensky. US President Donald Trump played the role in front of global media. German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz said, “No one wants peace more than Ukrainian citizens! That's why we are looking for a path to joint, lasting and mere peace. Ukraine can rely on Germany and Europe.” French President Emmanuel Macron said, “Russia is an invader, Ukraine is the people attacked,” but EU foreign policy director Kaja Karas declared that “the free world needs a new leader.”
The Ukrainians also gathered around Zelensky as defenders of his country's interests. The Associated Press reported that the meeting likely pleased Moscow officials, but many Ukrainians seemed unsteadfast, expressing their sense that Ukrainian leaders had risen up for the dignity and interest of their nation. Kyiv retired Nataliia Serhiienko, 67, said she believes the Ukrainians are approving the president's performance in Washington.
British Prime Minister Kiel Starmer invited more than a dozen European and EU leaders to Sunday's summit to “promote” actions on Ukraine and security.said his office. Priority will chair morning calls with the Baltic countries ahead of the main summit. He then welcomes Zelensky to Downing Street to discuss the war with Russia, he said Friday. Leaders from around continental Europe, including France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Turkey, NATO and the European Union, are invited to the summit.
Two Russian drone strikes clashed with medical facilities and other targets in Ukraine's second-largest city Kharkiv, causing at least five people to be injured late on Friday. According to Reuters, local officials said. Regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said Russian drones had attacked civilian regions in three central districts of the city, which are frequent targets of Russian attacks. Syniehubov said five people were injured, but Mayor Ihor Terekhov has killed seven of the injured. At Odesa's Black Sea Port, another frequent Russian target in southern Ukraine, drone attacks caused fires in private homes and businesses, killing one person and injuring another.
Moscow is using infantry to raid the Ukrainian border from Russia's Kursk region, partially controlled by Ukrainian forces, Kiev said on Friday. Ukraine launched a surprising attack on the Kursk region last August, hoping that the territory it captured would eventually be exchanged for Ukrainian territory under Russian control. The Kremlin deployed key forces, including the North Korean army, and tried to sway the Ukrainian army by seizing the spread of its territory, including the town of Suda.
