Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, announced that Ukrainian and European officials will meet with representatives of the U.S. government in Miami on Friday to discuss "new ideas" for ending the Russian war in Ukraine.
Recent Casualties and Concerns Over Increasing Violence
This meeting takes place amid a Russian attack on buses in the city of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine, which killed 30 civilians. Zelensky stated on Thursday that prior to these attacks, a Russian missile struck a five-story building in the Chernihiv region, resulting in the deaths of 22 Ukrainians, including five children. According to Zelensky, more than 70 people have been killed in Ukraine due to Russian attacks in the past two days.
Read more: Sherrod Brown Leads John Husted by 6 Points in Ohio Senate Poll
Zelensky's Discussions and Requests
Zelensky mentioned that Kyrylo Budanov, his chief of staff, and other senior Ukrainian officials, including Rustem Umerov, Serhiy Kiselyov, and David Arakhamia, will also attend this meeting. He noted that during this meeting, "new ideas and proposals developed by American negotiators in their recent meetings with the Russian and Ukrainian sides will be discussed."
Zelensky also expressed concern over civilian casualties and the potential escalation of violence, urging the United States to expand Ukraine's access to Elon Musk's Starlink satellite services, which could aid in targeting Russian missile launchers. He stated, "Open Starlink for Ukraine. You have opened it in response to Iran... Help us defend and dominate our skies. Then Putin will come to the negotiating table."
Zelensky also accused the United States of being unwilling to pressure Russia to negotiate, adding that activating Starlink services would incur no cost to Washington.
These remarks came in response to comments by Marco Rubio, the U.S. Secretary of State, who described the war in Ukraine as being at an impasse. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also agreed with Rubio's assessment on Thursday, adding that there is no immediate prospect for a trilateral meeting between Vladimir Putin, Zelensky, and Trump.
Zelensky emphasized, "You cannot negotiate with the Russians about future economic projects on one hand and say that we are in some kind of diplomatic deadlock on the other." He also called for stricter sanctions to weaken the Russian economy.
Read more: Armed Man Shot by Security in Nashville Federal Court · Russia's Lack of Transparency Raises Concerns About Plague
