Zelensky urges Trump to end Ukraine war like in ‘the Middle East’
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Relations between US President Donald Trump (left) and his Ukrainian counterpart, Mr Volodymyr Zelensky, have warmed dramatically since February.
PHOTOS: AFP
Follow topic:
KYIV – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged US President Donald Trump to broker peace in Ukraine like in “the Middle East” during a phone call on Oct 11, saying if Mr Trump could stop one war, “others can be stopped as well”.
The call came a day after Russia launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine’s energy grid, knocking out power to parts of the capital Kyiv and nine other Ukrainian regions.
Diplomatic efforts to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have slowed in recent months, in part because global attention has shifted to Israel’s two-year war with militant Palestinian group Hamas, Kyiv says.
Mr Trump, who announced the first phase of a ceasefire deal
“I had a call with US President Donald Trump. A very positive and productive one,” Mr Zelensky said on Facebook, congratulating Mr Trump for his “outstanding” ceasefire plan in the Middle East.
“If a war can be stopped in one region, then surely other wars can be stopped as well, including the Russian war,” Mr Zelensky added, calling for Mr Trump to pressure the Kremlin into negotiations
Relations between the two leaders have warmed dramatically since February, when they sparred during a now infamous televised meeting
Mr Trump has since grown more hostile towards Moscow while expressing sympathy for Ukraine.
In September, he wrote on Truth Social that Kyiv should try to “take back” all its occupied territory
US First Lady Melania Trump said on Oct 10 she had secured the release of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia after establishing an extraordinary back channel of communication with Mr Putin.
Strikes cut power
Russian attacks on Ukraine killed at least five people on Oct 11 and cut power to parts of Ukraine’s southern Odesa region, according to Ukrainian officials.
Two of the people died inside a church in Kostyantynivka when it was hit by a strike, according to local authorities.
In Russia’s border region of Belgorod, a truck driver was killed by a Ukrainian strike, according to local officials.
Moscow has targeted Ukraine’s energy grid each winter since it invaded in 2022, cutting power and heating to millions of households and disrupting water supply in what Kyiv says is a brazen war crime.
Russia denies targeting civilians and says Ukraine uses the energy sites to power its military sector.
Ukrainian drone attacks meanwhile killed two people in Russia, according to regional officials.
Both countries have accused each other of frustrating progress towards a peace deal in recent months.
Russia blames Kyiv and its European allies for the impasse, accusing them of undermining peace negotiations with Washington.
Ukraine and Europe accuse Russia of playing for time so it can seize more Ukrainian territory.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine
Kyiv and its European allies say the war is an illegal land grab that has resulted in tens of thousands of civilian and military casualties and widespread destruction.
Millions of Ukrainians have been forced to leave their homes since 2022, while Russia now occupies around a fifth of Ukrainian territory – much of it ravaged by fighting. AFP
