Zelenskyy said the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was not discussed with Trump.
European leaders met in Brussels and London on Thursday as Russia’s ceasefire against Ukraine intensified.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed EU leaders through video, urging them to approve at least 5 billion euros ($7.8 million in CDN) to buy artillery for Ukraine and calls for continued pressure on Russia.
EU foreign policy head Kaja Kallas has cut back on a proposal to provide up to 40 billion euros ($62.2 billion in CDN) to Ukraine this year, each of which contributes to the size of its economy. This is after resistance in some countries, especially in southern Europe.
Speaking at the EU summit, Zelenskyy said, “When one blocks a decision that is important to the entire African continent, it is only anti-European”, referring to Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Victor Orban’s objection to the EU statement in support of Ukraine.
Zelenskyy is meeting with Norwegian leaders in Oslo. Norway, which is not a member of the EU, announced earlier this month that it would more than double its financial support to Ukraine this year.
Zelenskyy has more inspiration for Trump’s phone call
Zelenskyy said on Thursday that Ukrainian experts will be in the upcoming talks involving the United States and Russia, but will not be in the same room as Russia.
The Kremlin said Russian and U.S. experts will discuss ways to ensure safe transportation in the Black Sea on Monday when talking about possible peaceful settlements in Saudi Arabia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reportedly agreed not to target Russia’s energy infrastructure for 30 days. Russia agreed to do the same for Ukraine the day before, but Zelensky claimed Moscow had violated the deal.
Zelenskyy said Thursday that he did not discuss potential U.S. ownership of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, which was occupied by Russia shortly after the February 2022 invasion.
According to a White House statement by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, Trump-Zelenskyy’s appeal on Wednesday, “discussed Ukraine’s electrical supply and nuclear power plants.”
Zelenskyy also told Norwegian journalists that Trump did not raise any questions about the Russian-occupied Crimea status in his talks. Asked about reports that the U.S. president is considering seeing the peninsula as part of Russia.
With the Brussels Summit going on, senior officers from European countries and beyond met outside London on Thursday to enrich the plans of Ukraine’s international peacekeeping force.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the “voluntary alliance” program led by the UK and France is entering the “operational phase”. But it is unclear how many countries are willing to send troops besides whether there is any ceasefire.
The initial Kursk report questioned
Meanwhile, Ukrainian soldiers in Kursk have failed in recent days but have not been surrounded by Russian troops, three U.S. and European officials familiar with government intelligence assessments told Reuters. This is contrary to recent comments by Trump and Putin.
Over the week, U.S. intelligence agencies, including the CIA, shared the assessment with the White House, said U.S. officials and another person familiar with the matter. However, Trump continues to claim that Ukrainian troops are surrounded in the Kursk region in western Russia.
happen6:44Advocates say Russia does not rest until Ukrainian children return home.
A Ukrainian who has been working to repatriate Russian children said there would be no peace between the two countries until all of them were at home, and Mykola Kuleba, founder of the charity Save Save Ukraine, had been rescuing and repatriating Ukrainian children, who told Ukrainian children that he had met Nilil Kökklain’s chance.
Trump said in a March 14 social media post that he had asked the Russian president to save the lives of thousands of Ukrainians who he said were “completely surrounded” and vulnerable. Putin said he would do it if they surrendered. Trump repeated this statement in a Fox News interview on Tuesday.
“No evidence of geographical allocation was observed that Russian troops have surrounded the large number of Ukrainian troops in the Uksk Prefecture in Kursk or elsewhere in the Ukrainian frontline,” the War Institute, a U.S.-based conflict monitoring agency, said on March 14.
Instead of directly answering questions about intelligence assessments, the National Security Council referred Reuters to a joint statement by Rubio and Waltz.
The White House, the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment.
Zelenskyy’s office and the Russian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Zelenskyy denied the fact that Ukrainian troops were surrounded and said Putin was lying on the ground. The Ukrainian leader admitted that his army was in a tough position in Kursk and he expected that Russia would continue to launch attacks when it attempted to push Ukrainian troops out of the region.
Since August, Kiev has lost nearly all its territory when Ukrainian soldiers smashed their own way on the western Russian border of Kursk. According to open source, it once owned nearly 1,300 square kilometers of land, but now it only has about 75 square kilometers.
“This is likely part of Putin’s efforts to win the war, resistance is useless, and inevitably, Russia’s greater strength will lead to victory. This resonates with Trump,” said Mark Cancian, a retired Marine Corps Colonel and senior adviser to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Russian base hit
Russian and Ukrainian officials said during Thursday’s battle, Ukraine attacked Russia’s main strategic bomber airport with drones, triggering huge explosions and fires from the frontlines of the war.
Video verified by Reuters shows huge explosions spread from the airport, destroying nearby huts. The Russian Ministry of Defense said the air defense department shot down 132 Ukrainian drones in the Russian region.
Other verified videos show huge smoke rising into the dawn sky with a strong fire.
The Engels’ base dates back to the Soviet era, hosting Russia’s Tupel TU-160 nuclear-capable heavy strategic bombers, informally known as the White Swan.
Ukrainian Defense Ministry said its troops attacked the airport and triggered a secondary explosion of ammunition. Kiev said Russia used Engels base to strike Ukraine.
Local officials said ten people were injured in the attack.
