Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he had a second telephone conversation in recent days with U.S. President Donald Trump, which dealt with the development of Ukraine’s air defense and prospects for long-range capabilities, including Tomahawk cruise missiles, the Office of the President of Ukraine said.
Zelenskyy stated both sides agreed that the teams and militaries of each country would collaborate on follow-up measures, including energy and gas problems. According to him, Russia’s expressed concern about possible U.S. Tomahawk backing is a sign that increased pressure “can be effective in achieving peace,” quoted the presidential office.
The same briefing said that the president also talked to French President Emmanuel Macron on speeding up the delivery of air defenses and coordinating diplomatic moves in the next few weeks. Kyiv will send France a list of its most important needs.
Zelenskyy talked about the growing dangers at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. He said that the plant has been running on diesel generators for about three weeks, which is the longest outage since Russia took it over. The presidential office said he wanted the IAEA to take a clearer position and that Russia needed to halt shelling so repairs could continue.
On the front line, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian units continued counteroffensive actions near Orikhiv in the Zaporizhzhia sector, advancing more than 3 kilometers to date. He thanked the 24th Separate Assault Battalion “Aidar,” the 33rd Assault Regiment and other units for holding back Russian forces.
The briefing also detailed sustained Russian strikes on Ukraine’s power infrastructure. Two energy workers were killed Friday in the Chernihiv region when a drone hit their vehicle, and several people were injured Saturday after a drone struck a substation in the Kyiv region, the office said. Zelenskyy praised power crews and emergency services working under fire and named several teams across Sumy, Zaporizhzhia and Kyiv regions for their efforts.
Zelenskyy said that Russia’s air campaign is an attempt to make up for losses on the battlefield and that Moscow is taking advantage of the world’s attention on the Middle East. He asked for more diplomatic “counteroffensive” work to go along with military defense and repairs at home.
A global media for the latest news, entertainment, music fashion, and more.
