In response to recent increases in Russia’s bombing campaign, despite American-led efforts to end the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Zelenskyy and Merz are expected to discuss sanctions against Russia during their Wednesday meeting in Berlin.
At 10:00 GMT, Merz will be presented with military honors at Zelenskyy, according to a spokesperson for the German government.
Following Russia and Ukraine’s earlier direct face-to-face discussions in Turkiye in May, the Berlin talks come next. The talks failed to lead to a ceasefire agreement despite President Donald Trump’s demand to put an end to the conflict.
Merz added doubts about the likelihood of a quick resolution to put an end to the conflict on Tuesday, claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin had “at the moment no interest in a ceasefire, or a peace deal.”
In consequence, Ukraine must continue to defend itself and that we must actually intensify our efforts to enable Ukraine to do so.
The German leader added that the territorial integrity of Ukraine was the main focus of the conflict.
He explained that the political order that we established with Russia after 1990 is being essentially questioned.
Long-range weapons
Merz claimed a day earlier that the US and the UK no longer had restrictions on the supply of weapons to Kyiv.
With very few exceptions, Ukraine has the ability to defend itself by attacking military installations in Russia. He claimed in a TV interview that it now has that capability.
The German leader, however, did not specify when the government had decided to impose the restrictions.
The Kremlin claimed it would be “dangerous” to lift Ukraine’s arms range restrictions.
According to Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin and Alexander Yunashev, “These decisions are completely at odds with our aspirations for a political (peace) settlement,” if they were made, they would be completely incompatible with our aspirations for peace.
Along the roughly 1, 000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, fighting has persisted, and both sides have engaged in extensive strikes. On Sunday, Russia launched its biggest drone attack against Ukraine.
Late on Tuesday and early on Wednesday, Russian air defenses detonated 296 Ukrainian drones over 13 regions, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
According to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, 33 drones were shot down as they approached the capital.
42 drones were downed, according to Moscow Governor Andrei Vorobyov. No one was hurt when drone fragments reportedly impacted three Troitskoye residential buildings.
Numerous flights were delayed or diverted by Moscow’s airports.
Russian forces launched an attack on Ukraine over the weekend using 88 drones, one guided air-launched missile, and five Iskander ballistic missiles, according to the Ukrainian Air Force on Wednesday. 34 drones were shot down by air defense units, and 37 were encircled.
Overnight and on Wednesday morning, Ukraine’s state railway company Ukrzaliznytsia reported that the Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Sumy regions’ railway infrastructure and equipment were in trouble. There were no reported injuries.
Source: Aljazeera
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