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Kyiv is seeking to shore up its support from Europe because of uncertainties over vital military aid under Trump. PHOTO: AFP
KYIV:
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Canada Saturday for talks on his way to a meeting with US President Donald Trump, hours after Russia pummelled Kyiv with drones and missiles in its latest attack on the capital.
Later Saturday, Russia also claimed fresh gains on the ground with the capture of two towns at different spots along the frontlines.
Zelensky said the Russian onslaught showed Moscow had no intention of ending the invasion it launched in February 2022 and which has killed tens of thousands of people.
Before scheduled talks with Trump in Florida on Sunday, Zelensky met in Halifax with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who said the latest Russian attack underscored the need to stand by Ukraine.
“We have the conditions… of a just and lasting peace, but that requires a willing Russia, and the barbarism that we saw overnight… shows just how important it is that we stand with Ukraine,” said Carney.
Russia has accused Ukraine and its European backers of trying to “torpedo” a previous US-brokered plan to stop the fighting.
Adding to pressure on the battlefield, Russia announced on Saturday it had captured two more towns in eastern Ukraine, Myrnograd and Guliaipole.
“If the authorities in Kyiv don’t want to settle this business peacefully, we’ll resolve all the problems before us by military means,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday.
‘They do not want to end the war’
The overnight barrage of drones and missiles targeting Kyiv killed two people, wounded dozens and cut power and heating to more than a million of the region’s residents during freezing temperatures, Ukraine authorities said.
Some 2,600 residential buildings were hit in the attack, as well as more than 300 schools, pre-schools or social services buildings, said Kyiv mayor Vitaliy Klitschko.
Zelensky said some 500 drones and 40 missiles had pounded the capital and its surrounding region.
“Russian representatives engage in lengthy talks, but in reality, Kinzhals (missiles) and Shaheds (drones) speak for them,” he said. “They do not want to end the war and seek to use every opportunity to cause Ukraine even greater suffering,” he added.
