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Zelensky said on social media: ‘Russia does not want a ceasefire, and we see it. The whole world sees it’
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Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Vladimir Putin does not want a ceasefire after what has been described as one of Moscow’s deadliest attacks this year in the conflict.
The death toll soared overnight to 18, as Ukraine officials said nine children were killed in Russia’s attack on Kryvyi Rih.
Serhiy Lysak, the regional governor, said more than 30 people, including a three-month old baby, were in hospital, while emergency services said 50 people were wounded.
Zelensky said on social media about the attack on his hometown: “People die every day. There is only one reason why this continues: Russia does not want a ceasefire, and we see it. The whole world sees it.”
“Each missile, every attack drone proves that Russia seeks only war.”
This comes as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Nato foreign ministers that they would know in a matter of weeks whether Russia is serious about peace or not.
He said: “We will know soon enough, in a matter of weeks, not months, whether Russia is serious about peace or not. I hope they are.”
The Kryvyi Rih strike which killed 19 citizens are a “sobering reminder” of Russia’s “barbaric war”, a Foreign Office minister has said.
In a statement on Saturday, Europe minister Stephen Doughty said: “Russia’s indiscriminate attacks on civilian infrastructure are a sobering reminder that Putin continues to wage his barbaric war against Ukraine.
“Our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the victims.
“As the Prime Minister has said, Russia could choose to accept a ceasefire but instead continues to bombard Ukraine and its population.”
President Zelensky said on Friday that he believed Turkey could play a “very important” role in providing security guarantees for Ukraine, after discussions with President Erdogan.
“He confirmed to me that Turkey will be among the security guarantors for Ukraine. This is important for me”, he said, adding: “We have a good relationship with President Erdogan”.
This follows Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha’s statement in March that he believed Turkey had an “extremely important” role in ending the war.
He said: “Turkey’s role [in ending Russia’s war against Ukraine] is extremely important, considering both the potential of this country and the role it plays in the region, especially in the Black Sea region…
“Turkey has one of the largest armies on the European continent. And certainly, in the context of future agreements to achieve a just and comprehensive peace in Ukraine, this role will be essential.”
The US will know within weeks whether Vladimir Putin is serious about peace, US secretary of state Marco Rubio has said – with Washington’s Nato allies accusing Russia of stalling ceasefire efforts.
Donald Trump and his White House officials have reportedly become wary of Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin’s commitment to peace in Ukraine – despite the US president having insisted for weeks that Putin was serious about reaching a truce.
Alex Croft reports:
Russian Defence Ministry says Ukraine attacked Russia’s energy infrastructure 14 times in previous day, according to TASS, the Russian state-owned news agency.
TASS cited the ministry as saying that the strikes had caused damage in Russia’s Bryansk, Belgorod, Smolensk, Lipetsk and Voronezh regions, alongside the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Kherson, parts of which Russia controls.
These reports have not been verified.
This comes as Russia accused Ukraine of striking an industrial factory in the Volga river region of Mordovia early on Saturday.
Almost no countries were spared from President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs; even small, uninhabited islands in the Indian Ocean were included in the exhaustive list. But one country was notably missing: Russia.
One of the United States’ largest adversaries was omitted from the list of countries slapped with even the 10 percent baseline tariff – a move that raised some eyebrows given Trump’s previously friendly relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
But other countries, including the uninhabited Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, which have a population of 59 and Svalbard and Jan Mayen, islands in the Arctic Circle with approximately 2,000 people, were hit with tariffs.
Ariana Baio reports:
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