Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday warned Ukraine of “special military operation” if Kyiv fails to accomplish peace through talks. This came a day before high-level talks between Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with his US counterpart Donald Trump to end the war, now approaching its fourth year.
Putin said Moscow believes that Ukraine does not want to resolve the conflict peacefully and the Kremlin was mulling “military operation” as diplomatic efforts seemed to fail.
“And if the Kyiv authorities do not want to resolve the matter peacefully, we will accomplish all the tasks before us in the course of the special military operation by military means,” Russian state news agency TASS quoted the Russian President as saying.
Russia launches strikes in Ukraine
Russia carried out heavy attacks on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, early Saturday, killing at least one person and injuring 27 others. The strikes happened just one day before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was set to hold high-level peace talks with US President Donald Trump.
Loud explosions were heard across Kyiv as the assault began in the early morning and lasted for several hours. Russia fired multiple waves of ballistic missiles and drones during the attack.
Trump-Zelenskyy meeting
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he plans to meet US President Donald Trump in Florida this weekend to discuss future security guarantees for Ukraine as the war with Russia continues.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Zelenskyy said the meeting will take place on Sunday. He explained that the leaders will review a proposed 20-point plan aimed at ending the conflict. According to him, the plan is almost complete, with most of the details already agreed.
Zelenskyy added that Ukraine wants European countries to take part in the process. However, he said it may be difficult to include them at such short notice.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin confirmed that contacts between Russia and the United States are ongoing. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists that Russian officials have already spoken with US representatives. He referred to recent talks in Florida involving Kirill Dmitriev, a senior envoy of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Earlier this week, Zelenskyy said Ukraine is open to making compromises to bring the war to an end. He said Ukrainian forces could withdraw from parts of the eastern industrial region if Russia does the same. Under this idea, the area would become a demilitarised zone overseen by international peacekeeping forces.
