Ukraine Says Weapons From Partners Coming, War Reaches Capital
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said he spoke to French president Emmanuel Macron this morning. “A new day on the diplomatic frontline began with a conversation with @EmmanuelMacron.
Weapons and equipment from our partners are on the way to Ukraine. The anti-war coalition is working!” he tweeted.
The Russian offensive continues as the country vetoed a draft UN Security Council resolution that would have deplored Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Eleven of the council’s 15 members voted for the motion. China, India and the UAE abstained. The resolution was doomed to fail because of Moscow’s veto power as a permanent member.
Ukrainian soldiers beat back a Russian attack in the capital hours after President Zelensky warned Moscow would attempt to take the city before dawn. Civilian volunteers have joined the war and are ready to face Russian tanks.
Ukrainian forces are putting up resistance and inflicting damage on Russia’s invading military, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said after an alliance video summit.
President Zelensky has vowed to stay back and defend the capital. Pointing to the UN Security Council vote, he tweeted that the draft resolution was co-sponsored by an “unprecedented” number of Member States and stressed that the world is with Ukraine and “victory will be ours”.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s spokesman Sergii Nykyforov said on social media that Ukraine and Russia are discussing a place and time for talks.
The Kremlin said earlier on Friday it had offered to meet with Ukrainian officials in the Belarusian capital Minsk, but that Ukraine had instead proposed Warsaw as a venue, resulting in a “pause” in contacts. “Ukraine was and remains ready to talk about a ceasefire and peace,” Nykyforov said.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price, however, said Russia’s offer of talks was an attempt to conduct diplomacy “at the barrel of a gun”, and that President Vladimir Putin’s military must stop bombing Ukraine if it was serious about negotiations.
Following Russia’s invasion, the United States and the European Union have added Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to their sanctions list as they try to ramp up pressure on the Kremlin.
Ukraine has said more than 1,000 Russian soldiers had been killed so far. Russia did not release casualty figures. The U.N. said 25 civilians had been killed and 102 wounded, figures that were likely to be a “significant under-estimate”. None of the tolls could be independently verified.