President Volodymyr Zelensky held a one-to-one talk with President Donald Trump in the Vatican before the funeral of Pope Francis. President Zelensky thanked President Trump for the good meeting and said that it could lead to historic results with an unconditional ceasefire and lasting peace. Ukraine has submitted its proposals for a ceasefire to the United States last week following discussions in London.
President Zelensky’s Chuef of Staff Andriy Yermak described the discussions as constructive.
This is the first time President Zelensky and President Trump have reunited to talk following Zelensky’s visit to the White House in Febaurary where President Zelensky was insulted and abused by US Vice-President JD Vance during a press conference. The meeting eventually did not happen and the Ukrainian delegation was also kicked out of the White House.
Following his meeting with President Zelensky and the Pope’s funeral, President Trump posted a statement condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin for Russia’s attacks on civilians during the past few weeks. Russia has significantly escalated its attacks on Ukrainian cities and civilians during US-proposed peace talks as a tactic to increase the pressure on Ukraine to capitulate. This was the first time that President Trump made a strong condemnation against President Putin.
After the end of the funeral, President Zelensky had other meetings with world leaders including, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. President Zelensky also met with the Secretary of State of the Holy See, Cardinal Pietro Paroli.
Airstrikes against Kyiv seem to have waned down since the start of the weekend, but attacks have continued on Kamianske, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia and Pavlohrad with multiple civilian casualties recorded.
Newsroom
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