As his nation was hit by what he called the biggest Russian drone attack it has faced since the war , Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made an offer to renounce his position in exchange for peace and NATO membership.
On the eve of the three-year anniversary of the start of Russia’s full-fledged war on Ukraine, Zelenskyy made the offer at a press conference in Kyiv on Sunday as his relationship with the new US government under the leadership of President Donald Trump grows.
“If]it means] peace for Ukraine, if you really need me to leave my post, I am ready”, Zelenskyy said. “I can exchange this for NATO]membership], if that condition is there, immediately”.
Trump has repeatedly attacked the Ukrainian president since taking office last month in a marked contrast to the previous US administration, which had firmly supported Zelenskyy and Ukraine. Last week, Trump called Zelenskyy a “dictator” who had little support from Ukrainians. After the Ukrainian leader claimed that Trump was operating in a “disinformation space” after the US president had held views held by Russia about the war, he made those remarks.
However, Zelenskyy asserted on Sunday that he preferred to work with the US president as a mediator rather than just.
“I really want it to be more than just mediation. Zelenskyy continued, stating that he wanted to meet Trump before any discussions between the US leader and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The US appears to be putting pressure on Ukraine to purchase its rare earth minerals. In exchange for continuing to support Kyiv, Washington initially demanded ownership of 50% of the minerals.
Zelenskyy on Sunday refuted Trump’s claim that his country owed $500 billion to the US, despite Ukraine’s claims that a deal could be reached. The president of Ukraine claimed that no mineral deals should be connected to the grant-giving, rather than the loan.
A deal is anticipated to be signed soon, according to US officials who spoke on Sunday.
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff said Zelenskyy had wavered “in his commitment towards]US access to Ukrainian minerals] a week ago” but that after a message from Trump, he was “not wavering any more”. This week, Wittkoff anticipated the signing of a deal.
The deal will be signed, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and he is “hopeful” it will occur this week.
This all comes in the wake of Trump and Putin’s reconciliation and of direct talks between Moscow and Washington regarding ending the war, including a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia.
Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov announced on Sunday that the Russian and American teams would meet this week to discuss how things could be improved.
According to Ryabkov, the state news agency TASS is anticipating real progress at the end of the upcoming week.
Zelenskyy points out that it is impossible to reach an agreement on Ukraine without the presence of Ukraine in the Russia-US discussions.
Largest drone attack
Zelenskyy previously claimed that Russia had launched 267 drones into Ukraine overnight, making it the biggest drone assault since the start of the conflict.
Writing on social media, Zelenskyy said that in the past week, Russia had launched nearly 1, 150 attack drones, more than 1, 400 guided aerial bombs and 35 missiles at Ukraine.
Zelenskyy urged Europe and the US to stand with Ukraine in the words of “every day, our people stand against aerial terror.”
138 of the drone launches from Saturday night through Sunday, according to an Air Force spokesman, while 119 were “lost” without causing any harm, according to Yuriy Ignat, a spokesman for the Air Force.
He said the 267 drones spotted in Ukrainian skies is “a record for a single attack” since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A separate Ukrainian armed forces statement on Telegram on Sunday said several regions, including Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, had been “hit”.
One man was killed and five others were hurt in a Saturday Russian missile attack in the town of Kryvyi Rih, according to regional authorities.
“The war continues. Everyone who can assist in air defense must work to improve the protection of human life. According to Zelenskyy, “we must do everything in our power to bring about a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.”
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022. However, since 2014, Russian forces and their allies have been fighting in eastern Ukraine, and Russia has annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, despite the country’s opposition to this move.
Reporting from Kyiv, Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan said Ukrainians refer to the Russian drone strikes as “state-sponsored terrorism”.
“It is actually frightening for civilians to come under those attacks, even if they are successfully intercepted”, he said.
Source: Aljazeera
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