‘Putin cannot be stopped…’: Ukraine’s Zelenskyy urges US, Europe to take ‘decisive steps’ to…, says Moscow won’t…
Russia-Ukraine war: Expressing concern over Moscow’s alleged obstruction to peace efforts in the Russia-Ukraine war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday asserted that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin “cannot be stopped with words”, as he urged his allies, including the United States and Europe to take “decisive steps” to “stop” the Russian leader.
“Putin cannot be stopped with words – pressure is needed. The world sees that Russia responds to strength, which means that peace through strength can work. Ukraine will never grant terrorists any bounty for their crimes, and we count on our partners to uphold this very position. Decisive steps are needed from the United States, Europe, the G20 and G7 countries. Lives must be protected. I thank everyone who is helping in this effort,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X.
Why Zelenskyy claimed Moscow doesn’t want war to end?
The Ukrainian leader alleged that Moscow has no intention to end the Russia-Ukraine war and has continued “terrorising our people with airstrikes” despite an unconditional ceasefire offer from Kyiv.
“Ukraine has never sought war. We agreed to an unconditional ceasefire, looked for opportunities for peace, and repeatedly offered the world ways to stop the strikes in the sky, on land, and at sea. But it is Russia that continually obstructs this process – manipulating, dragging out negotiations, terrorizing our people with airstrikes, and intensifying assaults along the front line,” Zelenskyy said.
“The war continues only because Moscow does not want it to end,” he claimed.
According to experts, while relations between US President Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy have improved in recent months, but Kyiv seems far from the real prize its seeks, which involves more military aid and weapons support from Washington.
Is Trump being played by Putin?
Many believe that after nearly nine months of extraordinary diplomatic acrobatics and verbiage, Trump prefers giving more chances to Vladimir Putin to talk him around, over blunt military escalation, CNN reported.
However, there is some good news for Ukraine as Trump has suggested that “They should stop where they are”, hinting that a ceasefire along current battle lines.
Earlier, Trump had denied arming Ukraine with Tomahawk cruise missiles, stating “Tomahawks are very dangerous… It could mean escalation – a lot of bad things could happen”. The US President openly admits that Putin might be playing him, asserting that he would come out the winner in his exchange with his Russian counterpart.
I have been played all my life by the best of them, and I came out really well,” Trump has said.
(With inputs from agencies)
News