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‘If Ukraine does not want…’: Vladimir Putin's big ‘by force’ warning ahead of Trump-Zelensky meet
Putin makes the statement a day after the drone and missile attack on Kyiv, as Zelensky plans to meet Trump to discuss ending the conflict.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday said that Russia could see that Kyiv was in no hurry to end the conflict between the two countries by peaceful means.
If Ukraine does not want to resolve the conflict peacefully, Russia would resolve all goals of its ‘special military operation’ by force, Reuters reported quoting state news agency TASS.
The statement comes a day after Russia dropped around 500 drones and 40 missiles on Kyiv during early morning hours, killing at least one and wounding around 27.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to meet Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday as the leaders will proceed with further talks on ending the nearly four-year-long conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Zelensky said that the 10-hour-long bombardment on Kyiv and its surrounding regions was 'Russia's answer to our peace efforts'.
The leaders plan to discuss matters including security guarantees and territorial issues in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Canadian PM on Russia-Ukraine conflict
Canadian PM Mark Carney on Saturday said that establishing a lasting peace in Ukraine requires ‘a willing Russia’, as he denounced the ‘barbarism’ of Russia's recent attack on Kyiv.
“We have the conditions... of a just and lasting peace, but that requires a willing Russia, and the barbarism that we saw overnight... shows just how important it is that we stand with Ukraine,” news agency AFP reported quoting Carney as saying. He had stopped in Nova Scotia's Halifax as he was on his way to meet Trump in Florida.
The Canadian PM also announced economic assistance worth CAN$2.5 billion (US$1.82 billion) for Ukraine. He said that the fund would help unlock international financing ‘to begin this process of rebuilding’ the nation as the conflict continues to persist.
“And this really showed that Putin doesn't want peace, and we want peace,” Carney added.
(With agency inputs)
