“At night, Russia shelled Mykolaiv with 4 Kalibr missiles launched from the Black Sea. High-precision weapons were aimed toward private houses, a historic constructing and a high-rise constructing,” said Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
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WASHINGTON — Ukraine welcomed Saudi Arabia’s decision to host multinational talks this week on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s proposed peace plan, a move that would arrange future negotiations with Russia.
Andriy Yermak, the top of Zelenskyy’s office, said that Kyiv is working to involve as many countries as possible within the talks, that are slated to happen in Jeddah.
“President Zelenskyy said that our alternative is to unite the world around Ukraine. The evidence of this alternative is evident: We’re engaging countries from the West, East, North and South,” Yermak said during a gathering with Ukrainian officials.
The Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend that america, several European countries and Brazil were invited to the talks. Russia was not included within the upcoming meeting.
Riyadh claims it has maintained a neutral stance on the Kremlin’s ongoing war, but Western economies have accused the dominion of keeping oil prices high, an unfriendly move that enables Moscow to finance its war.
Read more: Saudi energy minister says latest Riyadh-Moscow oil cuts showed unity with Russia
Last 12 months, Saudi Arabia helped broker a prisoner exchange involving greater than 200 people between Kyiv and Moscow.
The upcoming meeting in Saudi Arabia comes because the Kremlin’s war marches past its five hundredth day and amid a stalled Ukrainian counteroffensive aimed toward pushing back the frontlines as a way to liberate Russian-occupied areas.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Moscow plans to “control this meeting.”
“Is it possible to succeed in a peace settlement now with the participation of the Kyiv regime and within the context of its current stance? The reply is unambiguous. No, it’s unimaginable,” Peskov added.
