Kyiv [Ukraine], April 15: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has implored US President Donald Trump to visit his country and witness some of the tragedy of the current war before committing to any purported peace solutions with Russia.
Mindful of his abrasive meeting with the US leader in Washington in February, Zelensky reiterated his respect for the US position. "But please, before any kind of decisions, any kind of forms of negotiations, come to see people, civilians, warriors, hospitals, churches, children destroyed or dead," Zelensky told US broadcaster CBS in an interview released on Sunday. He hoped that Trump would then understand what he was dealing with, he said.
"They will understand what (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has done," he said.
CBS recorded the interview with Zelensky during a visit to his home town of Kryvyi Rih. A Russian missile attack there on April 4 killed 19 people, including 9 children and teenagers. On Sunday, a rocket attack on the Ukrainian town of Sumy killed at least 34 people.
Zelensky said that, in his opinion, the Russian view of the war, which has been going on for more than three years, has prevailed in the new US administration.
He was particularly critical of Vice President JD Vance, who led the attack on Zelensky during the White House visit at the end of February.
"I tried to explain that you can't look for something in the middle. There is an aggressor and there is a victim," said the Ukrainian.
Meanwhile, at least four people have been killed by Russian shelling in the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, the authorities said on Monday evening.
Military governor Oleh Syniehubov reported that a man and a woman were killed by Russian artillery in the city of Kupiansk. The front line is approximately 6 kilometres north-east of the city. Additionally, Syniehubov said that shells from Russian multiple rocket launchers killed a woman and a man in the settlement of Shevchenkove, west of Kupiansk.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russia intends to complain to Washington about alleged violations by Ukraine of a ban on reciprocal attacks on energy facilities.
A 30-day moratorium on such attacks expires on April 16, Peskov said, according to the Russian state news agency TASS. He said Ukraine had clearly violated the measure."Of course, you have to analyse these 30 days, exchange information and considerations with the Americans," Peskov said. Ukraine has been defending itself against a full-scale Russian invasion for over three years.
Source: Qatar Tribune
