Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskyy ‘fully committed’ to dialogue with US ahead of Saudi Arabia trip
Ukrainian representatives set to meet US team next week; Russian attack kills at least 14 people in the eastern Donetsk region. What we know on day 1,110See all our Ukraine coverageUkraine is “fully committed” to having a constructive dialogue with US representatives in Saudi Arabia next week over ways to end the war with Russia, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday. “Ukraine has been seeking peace from the very first second of this war. Realistic proposals are on the table. The key is to move quickly and effectively,” the Ukrainian president said on X. He said he would visit Saudi Arabia next week and that after meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday, Ukrainian diplomatic and military representatives would stay for a meeting on Tuesday with the US team. “On our side, we are fully committed to constructive dialogue, and we hope to discuss and agree on the necessary decisions and steps,” he said. The Ukrainian delegation will include the foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, and the defence minister, Rustem Umerov.Russia launched a devastating attack on Ukraine on Saturday, killing at least 14 people and injuring dozens more. Two ballistic missiles hit the centre of Dobropillia in the eastern Donetsk region. Fire engulfed a five-storey apartment building. As emergency services arrived, Russia launched another strike on the same area. Eleven civilians were killed, with five children among the 30 injured.Three people were killed and seven others injured in a drone attack early on Saturday in the city of Bogodukhiv, the military head of the eastern Kharkiv region, Oleg Synegubov, said. Russia fired two missiles and 145 drones at Bogodukhiv, Ukraine’s air force said.The attacks came as Donald Trump said the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, was “doing what anybody would do”. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday, the US president said he finds it “easier” to work with Russia than Ukraine and that Putin “wants to end the war”.Zelenskyy called for more sanctions on Russia in response to the attacks. “Such strikes show that Russia’s objectives have not changed,” he wrote on Facebook. “Therefore, it is crucial to continue to do our best to protect lives, strengthen our air defences, and increase sanctions against Russia. Everything that helps Putin finance the war must collapse.”The Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, said on Saturday that appeasement towards Russia was leading to more tragedy in Ukraine. “This is what happens when someone appeases barbarians,” Tusk wrote on X. “More bombs, more aggression, more victims. Another tragic night in Ukraine.”The Russian defence ministry announced the recapture of Viktorovka, Nikolayevka and Staraya Sorochina in its Kursk region. According to DeepState, an online military tracker linked to the Ukrainian army, the Russian move followed a “breach” in Ukrainian defence lines near the town of Sudzha, which is under Kyiv’s control. An army source interviewed by Ukrainska Pravda newspaper said that the Ukrainian soldiers were trying to “stabilise the situation” but the Russian troops had “completely cut off the supply lines”.Moscow’s defence ministry on Saturday said its air defence systems had destroyed 31 Ukrainian drones over the previous night. A Ukrainian drone attack also targeted Russia’s Kirishi oil refinery and falling debris caused damage to a reservoir, the governor of the north-western Leningrad region, Aleksandr Drozdenko, said. A civilian was injured by a drone attack in Belgorod district near the Ukraine border, the local governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, wrote on Telegram.Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said his country would consider taking part in a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine. The Australian leader spoke on Saturday with his UK counterpart, Keir Starmer, who has joined France in trying to rally a “coalition of the willing” to protect any ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war. “Both of our nations are very clear about our support for Ukraine, and it of course is too early – you can’t have peacekeeping forces without having peace,” Albanese told a news conference. “I certainly have said very clearly, publicly, repeatedly, that we would give consideration to participating in any peacekeeping mission in the Ukraine.” Australia will send a senior representative to a chiefs of defence meeting in Paris on Tuesday to discuss future backing for Ukraine, Albanese said. Continue reading...
Ukrainian representatives set to meet US team next week; Russian attack kills at least 14 people in the eastern Donetsk region. What we know on day 1,110
Ukraine is “fully committed” to having a constructive dialogue with US representatives in Saudi Arabia next week over ways to end the war with Russia, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday. “Ukraine has been seeking peace from the very first second of this war. Realistic proposals are on the table. The key is to move quickly and effectively,” the Ukrainian president said on X. He said he would visit Saudi Arabia next week and that after meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday, Ukrainian diplomatic and military representatives would stay for a meeting on Tuesday with the US team. “On our side, we are fully committed to constructive dialogue, and we hope to discuss and agree on the necessary decisions and steps,” he said. The Ukrainian delegation will include the foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, and the defence minister, Rustem Umerov.
Russia launched a devastating attack on Ukraine on Saturday, killing at least 14 people and injuring dozens more. Two ballistic missiles hit the centre of Dobropillia in the eastern Donetsk region. Fire engulfed a five-storey apartment building. As emergency services arrived, Russia launched another strike on the same area. Eleven civilians were killed, with five children among the 30 injured.
Three people were killed and seven others injured in a drone attack early on Saturday in the city of Bogodukhiv, the military head of the eastern Kharkiv region, Oleg Synegubov, said. Russia fired two missiles and 145 drones at Bogodukhiv, Ukraine’s air force said.
The attacks came as Donald Trump said the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, was “doing what anybody would do”. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday, the US president said he finds it “easier” to work with Russia than Ukraine and that Putin “wants to end the war”.
Zelenskyy called for more sanctions on Russia in response to the attacks. “Such strikes show that Russia’s objectives have not changed,” he wrote on Facebook. “Therefore, it is crucial to continue to do our best to protect lives, strengthen our air defences, and increase sanctions against Russia. Everything that helps Putin finance the war must collapse.”
The Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, said on Saturday that appeasement towards Russia was leading to more tragedy in Ukraine. “This is what happens when someone appeases barbarians,” Tusk wrote on X. “More bombs, more aggression, more victims. Another tragic night in Ukraine.”
The Russian defence ministry announced the recapture of Viktorovka, Nikolayevka and Staraya Sorochina in its Kursk region. According to DeepState, an online military tracker linked to the Ukrainian army, the Russian move followed a “breach” in Ukrainian defence lines near the town of Sudzha, which is under Kyiv’s control. An army source interviewed by Ukrainska Pravda newspaper said that the Ukrainian soldiers were trying to “stabilise the situation” but the Russian troops had “completely cut off the supply lines”.
Moscow’s defence ministry on Saturday said its air defence systems had destroyed 31 Ukrainian drones over the previous night. A Ukrainian drone attack also targeted Russia’s Kirishi oil refinery and falling debris caused damage to a reservoir, the governor of the north-western Leningrad region, Aleksandr Drozdenko, said. A civilian was injured by a drone attack in Belgorod district near the Ukraine border, the local governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, wrote on Telegram.
Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said his country would consider taking part in a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine. The Australian leader spoke on Saturday with his UK counterpart, Keir Starmer, who has joined France in trying to rally a “coalition of the willing” to protect any ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war. “Both of our nations are very clear about our support for Ukraine, and it of course is too early – you can’t have peacekeeping forces without having peace,” Albanese told a news conference. “I certainly have said very clearly, publicly, repeatedly, that we would give consideration to participating in any peacekeeping mission in the Ukraine.” Australia will send a senior representative to a chiefs of defence meeting in Paris on Tuesday to discuss future backing for Ukraine, Albanese said. Continue reading...
