By Deutsche Welle (World News) | Created at 2025-03-23 14:50:55 | Updated at 2025-03-25 13:09:17
1 day ago
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday called on Ukraine's allies to apply new pressure on Moscow to stop the war.
The call came after nearly 150 Russian drones targeted Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities overnight, killing at least seven people.
"New decisions and new pressure on Moscow are needed to put an end to these strikes and this war," Zelenskyy posted on social media ahead of talks on a partial ceasefire.
Originally scheduled to take place simultaneously in Saudi Arabia on Monday, the Russian-US and Ukrainian-US talks on a partial ceasefire may now occur one after the other.
Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian and US delegations would meet on Sunday, without providing further details about what appeared to be a change in format.
In a post on Instagram, Zelenskyy also said that this week alone, over 1,580 guided aerial bombs, nearly 1,100 attack drones, and 15 missiles of various types were used against the Ukrainian people, stressing that all of this weaponry contains at least 102,000 foreign components.
"That's why sanctions against Russian terrorists must be more effective. Every loophole that allows them to bypass the sanctions regime must be eliminated," he wrote.
Russia warns of 'difficult negotiations'
Meanwhile, Russia downplayed expectations of a quick resolution to the war in Ukraine, saying talks were just beginning and that "difficult negotiations" lay ahead.
"We are only at the beginning of this path," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state TV.
According to Peskov, Russia's "main" focus in its talks with the United States would be to discuss the possible resumption of a 2022 Black Sea grain deal, which would ensure safe navigation for Ukrainian agricultural exports in the Black Sea.
Who decides the future of Ukraine?
US expects real progress in talks
US President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff said he expects Ukraine and Russia to make progress on a ceasefire in the Black Sea at Monday's talks in Saudi Arabia.
"I think you're going to see in Saudi Arabia on Monday some real progress, particularly as it affects a Black Sea ceasefire on ships between both countries. And from that, you'll naturally gravitate to a full-on shooting ceasefire," he told Fox News.
Witkoff also said he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin wants peace and is not planning to invade "all of Europe."
"I feel that he wants peace," Witkoff said.
Earlier, Putin rejected a joint US-Ukrainian proposal for a full and immediate 30-day ceasefire. Instead, he proposed halting strikes only on energy facilities. But on the eve of the negotiations, both sides launched new drone attacks.
Edited by: Louis Oelofse
