“We do not want to prolong this war,” the Ukrainian president said. “We must achieve a just peace as soon as possible.” But the outlines of this plan have not been disclosed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was working on a “comprehensive plan” for how Kyiv plans to end its war with Russia.
Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a visit by Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar, he said: “We do not want to prolong this war.”
“We must achieve a just peace as quickly as possible. We discussed the situation on the battlefield, particularly in the Kharkiv region where Russia tried to launch a large-scale offensive. The occupiers are not there “Our Ukrainian forces stabilized the situation and stopped the offensive, which was difficult. We will continue to do the same to remove the illusion from Russia that it can achieve anything with this war.did he declare.
The meeting between Mr. Zelensky and Mr. Pirc Musar was aimed at discussing the preparations for a second international peace summit, following the two-day event held earlier this month in Switzerland.
“I am very pleased with the progress made at the first peacekeeping conference in Switzerland. And we agreed that there is not a single politician in Europe who does not want peace. We are all aware of the risks. But it is up to Ukraine to decide when and under what conditions it will negotiate. And we are at your side,” she declared.
President Zelensky had organized the summit in order to rally international support for Ukraine in its two-year war with Russia.
Leaders and senior officials from more than 90 countries present in Switzerland, in the absence of Russia and China, agreed on a final communiqué stipulating that the territorial integrity of Ukraine must be respected as part of any peace agreement.
But not all participants agreed with the wording of the declaration and refused to sign it. Some countries, such as India and Saudi Arabia, have stated that the effectiveness of the summit itself was limited by Russia’s absence.
There is currently no official mechanism for direct negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow, but Ukraine has repeatedly stated that Russia was to withdraw all its forces from within its borders, including the Crimean Peninsula which it annexed in 2014, before serious peace talks could begin.
However, Russian troops have made territorial gains on the battlefield and Mr Zelensky has often complained about the slow pace of arms and ammunition deliveries from Western allies.
On Friday, the Ukrainian president reported on X that a Russian strike on an apartment building in Dnipro destroyed four floors and injured three people.
Local authorities said one person was killed in the strike and two others were missing. The region’s governor said a seven-month-old child was among those injured after inhaling smoke from the strike.
President Zelensky on Thursday called on European Union leaders to keep their promises to supply military equipment to his country, as the bloc pledged to support kyiv in the long term.
Speaking at an EU Council summit in Brussels, he said he would present a “detailed plan” to end the war in the coming months.
“All those who truly want peace must work together to develop an action plan to address all aspects of security that have been violated by Russia.”did he declare.
