Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on Western countries to provide delayed aid to Ukraine, even as the country continues to fend off Russian attacks amid a shortage of ammunition.
“If this doesn’t happen, it will go down as one of the most humiliating pages in history – if the United States or Europe is defeated by an Iranian ‘Shahed’ drone or a Russian fighter jet. Russia’s evil should not be the result of weak decisions, delayed deliveries or Hesitation is encouraged,” he said, referring to the stalling of U.S. aid plans for Ukraine due to political wrangling in the U.S. Congress.
“It is simply impossible to explain how the suffering of a bleeding country can be used in domestic political struggles,” Zelensky added in a video address on Sunday night.
Zelensky struck a pointed tone in his speech after a Russian drone struck an apartment building in the Ukrainian port city of Odessa on Saturday, with the death toll in the city rising to 12 on Sunday, including five children. revealed his frustration.
“Russia has targeted Ukrainian children for military purposes,” Zelensky wrote in a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) after the bodies of three children were pulled from the rubble early Sunday.
Odessa regional governor Oleh Kiper wrote on Telegram that rescue teams found more bodies late Sunday. Earlier in the day, rescue teams dug out the bodies of a mother and baby from the rubble.
According to the Associated Press, it has been more than two months since the United States last shipped military supplies to Ukraine. In Washington, officials are increasingly alarmed by shortages of arms and ammunition in Ukraine and declining U.S. supplies.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has so far refused to put to a vote the $95 billion foreign aid package passed by the Senate, including $60 billion in vital aid to Ukraine. The decision could delay the program for weeks after Congress has been waiting for months.
“We are waiting for vital supplies and especially solutions from the United States,” Zelensky said in an evening speech late Sunday.
He added that Russia had lost 15 military aircraft since the beginning of February. “The more opportunities we have to shoot down Russian planes … the more Ukrainian lives we can save,” Zelensky added in his Sunday evening speech.
Sen. Jack Reed, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said U.S. defense officials are discussing options, which could include using the Pentagon’s existing inventory before Congress approves a funding replenishment.
Ukraine peace talks
China’s foreign ministry said special representative Li Hui and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin met in Moscow on Saturday night and agreed that negotiations were the only way to end the fighting in Ukraine.
China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that Beijing was ready to “continue to promote peace talks, mediate and build consensus among relevant parties such as Russia and Ukraine, and promote a final political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis.”
In a statement on its website, the Russian Foreign Ministry called the meeting on the war in Ukraine “a very positive and thorough exchange of views,” adding, “It was stated that without Russia’s participation, any discussion on politics and diplomacy would No discussion of solutions is possible” considering its interests in the security field. ”
According to Chinese and Russian official media reports, this is the first stop of China’s special envoy on Ukraine’s European trip, which will also visit Brussels, Poland, Germany and France.
This is Li Keqiang’s second overseas trip since last May and comes as Kiev seeks Beijing’s participation in peace talks in Switzerland this spring. China claims to remain neutral in Russia’s war in Ukraine but maintains close ties with Moscow, conducting frequent state visits and joint military exercises.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan expressed hope on Sunday that ceasefire discussions between Moscow and Kiev could begin soon. “Both sides have now reached the limits of what they can achieve through war,” Fidan said at the end of a diplomatic forum in the southern city of Antalya.
Fidan told reporters that he discussed Ukraine and several other issues with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of a diplomatic forum in Antalya on Friday.
“We believe it is time to start ceasefire talks,” he said.
“This does not mean recognition of the (Russian) occupation, but a matter of sovereignty and territory [a] The ceasefire should be discussed separately,” he added.
NATO member Turkey shares maritime borders with Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea and has sought to maintain good relations with both countries since Russia invaded Ukraine two years ago.
Certain information for this report was provided by Reuters and AFP.
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