Ukraine

Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, took the opportunity while he was in Rome for Pope Leo XIV’s Inaugural Mass to meet with the main American officials and European leaders on Sunday before a high -risk telephone call on Monday between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the War in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy spoke with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the United States Ambassador Residence in Rome. Zelenskyy said on social networks that he had underlined the need for “real diplomacy” and reaffirmed Ukraine’s commitment to a “high and unconditional fire.”

“We have also mentioned the need for sanctions against Russia, bilateral trade, defense cooperation, situation on the battlefield and the next exchange of prisoners,” he wrote. “Pressure against Russia is needed until they are eager to stop war.”

It was the first face to face between Vance and Zelenskyy from the Contentious meeting at the Oval office in February.

Trump said on Saturday that he plans to talk to Putin on Monday to stop the “blood bath” in Ukraine. Then he will talk to Zelenskyy and leaders from several NATO countries.

Rubio said “In front of the nation with Margaret Brennan” in an interview that was broadcast on SundayHe believes that the only way these conversations advance is if Trump and Putin are in person. Said Mr. Trump has He publicly offered to meet one by one.

“The mechanics of establishing that type of meeting would require a little work, so I cannot say that we are planning while talking in terms of choosing a site and a date,” said Rubio. “But the president wants to do it. He wants to do it as soon as it is feasible.”

When asked if Russia and Ukraine seek to talk to “Buy Time,” Rubio said: “We will discover it very soon.”

“On the one hand, we are trying to achieve peace and finish a very bloody, expensive and destructive war. Therefore, there is some element of patience that is required. On the other hand, we do not have time to lose. There are many other things that happen in the world to which we must also pay attention.”

Zelenskyy also met with Pope Leo after the dough.

“The authority and voice of the Holy See can play an important role in putting an end to this war,” wrote the Ukrainian president on social networks.

He thanked the Vatican for his preparation to become a platform for direct negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he spoke with Zelenskyy and Rubio outside the Pope’s inauguration. Merz said he had agreed with the leaders of France and Great Britain “that we will talk again with the US president in preparation for this conversation.”

Merz told journalists that “my firm impression is that both Europeans and Americans are determined to work together, but now also oriented to objectives, to ensure that this terrible war ends soon.”

Putin Spulpted Zelenskyy’s offer Gather face to face in Turkey after proposed direct negotiations, although not at the presidential level, as an alternative to a high 30 -day fire urged by Ukraine and its western allies, including the United States.

The conversations in Istanbul separated after less than two hours, although both parties agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each, according to the heads of both delegations. The Chief of Intelligence of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, said on Ukrainian television on Saturday that the exchange could happen as soon as next week.

Vance also met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, Sunday. Later in the day, the vice president also met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and the two leaders joined the Vice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Angela Rayner, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, David Lammy.

Vance told journalists before the meeting with Meloni and Von der Leide that Europe is an “important ally of the United States”, while “we have some disagreements, such as friends sometimes, on issues such as commerce.” He added that he was hope that the conversations were “the beginning of some long -term commercial negotiations and some long -term commercial advantages between Europe and the United States.”

Drone bar in Ukraine

Zelenskyy’s meetings occurred when Russia launched what Ukraine called its greatest flood of unmanned planes against Ukraine since the beginning of their large -scale invasion in 2022, after the first direct conversations between Moscow and kyiv in years failed to cease Friday.

Russia fired a total of 273 explosive drones and lures aimed at the kyiv regions of Ukraine, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk, said the Ukraine Air Force. Of these, 88 were intercepted and 128 lost, probably electronically stuck.

Yuriy Ihnat, head of the Air Force Communications Department, told The News that Barge was the biggest drone attack since the beginning of Russia’s large -scale invasion.

Previously, the largest individual drone attack in Russia was on the eve of the third anniversary of the war, when Russia hit Ukraine with 267 drones.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said its air defenses knocked down seven Ukrainian drones during the night and another 18 on Sunday morning.

In:
• JD Vance
• Marco Rubio
• Ukraine
• Zelenskyy
• Russia
• Vladimir Putin
• Volodymyr Zelenskyy