Russian attacks on Ukraine is a way to maintain pressure as well as humiliate ongoing diplomatic efforts, Ukraine President Zelenskyy stated in a post on X hours before official engagements for the cause of peace get going at the White House on Monday, August 18.
Zelenskyy highlighted the latest strikes on Ukraine’s residential infrastructure and said it is Moscow that must be held responsible for stopping the war, which was a clear rebuke to US President Trump, who had put the onus of ending the war on Ukraine.
“Russia should not be rewarded for its participation in this war. The war must be ended. And it is Moscow that must hear the word: ‘Stop,'” he wrote on X.
After rolling out the red carpet for Putin in Anchorage on August 15, the US president has begun echoing some of Russia’s demands — hand over parts of Ukrainian territory to strike a deal — ahead of his meeting with Zelenskyy today. Of course this goes diametrically against Trump’s “severe consequences” warning if a ceasefire was not ensured, which he had delivered just prior to meeting Putin.
Trump on Sunday (August 17) evening said it is now in Zelenskyy’s hands to end the war “almost immediately” if he wanted, by agreeing to certain conditions. In a Truth Social post, he said Ukraine should not expect to get the Crimea peninsula back and must quit the NATO alliance. The post was since reshared by Russia’s top negotiator Kirill Dmitriev.
Meanwhile, Russia has continued to launch targeted attacks in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, the Sumy region, and Odesa.
In Kharkiv, seven people, including a year-old girl, were reported dead while 20 others were injured on a drone strike on Monday.
“Putin will commit demonstrative killings to maintain pressure on Ukraine and Europe, as well as to humiliate diplomatic efforts. That is precisely why we are seeking assistance to put an end to the killings. That is why reliable security guarantees are required,” Zelenskyy wrote in his post.
The Ukrainian president has made clear repeatedly that ceding land to Russia is not a solution to end the war and that it is ready to embrace a lasting resolution.
“Not like it was years ago, when Ukraine was forced to give up Crimea and part of our East — part of Donbas — and Putin simply used it as a springboard for a new attack,” he wrote, referring to Ukraine ceding Crimea in 2014 only to have fresh attacks launched in 2022.
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In his efforts to achieve a reliable solution via the US, Zelenskyy will be accompanied by a squad of European leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Chief Mark Rutte, who will be at the White House in show of support.
The leaders will also participate in a separate multilateral meeting with Trump after Zelenskyy’s meeting.
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