MOSCOW — Russia on Thursday accused Ukraine and the United States of turning a deaf ear to its issues after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy made a historic go to to Washington.
Zelenskiy loved a hero’s welcome on a lightning journey on Wednesday by which US President Joe Biden dedicated practically $1.8 billion in army provides together with, for the primary time, the Patriot missile protection system.
“We can say with regret that so far neither President Biden nor President Zelenskiy have said even a few words that could be perceived as potential readiness to listen to Russia’s concerns,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov advised reporters.
Officials in Moscow over current months have repeatedly mentioned they haven’t dominated out talks with Ukraine.
They have blamed the closure of diplomatic channels on Zelenskiy, who has mentioned he is not going to negotiate whereas President Vladimir Putin is in energy.
“Not a single word was heard warning Zelenskiy against the continued shelling of residential buildings in towns and villages in Donbas and there were no real calls for peace,” Peskov mentioned.
“This suggests that the United States is continuing its line of de facto fighting an indirect war with Russia to the last Ukrainian,” he added.
Zelenskiy’s snap go to got here hours after Putin mentioned Moscow would subsequent yr proceed creating its army potential and the fight readiness of its nuclear forces.
The Russian chief described the battle in Ukraine as a “shared tragedy” however positioned blame for the outbreak of hostilities on Ukraine and its allies, not Moscow.
Russia’s Shoigu visits frontline
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in the meantime visited troops “on the frontline” of Moscow’s Ukraine offensive, with footage displaying Shoigu inspecting barracks and strolling by way of trenches.
The ministry didn’t say the place or when the inspection passed off.
Ukraine fears a rising onslaught of missiles and has confronted a slew of assaults from drones, many purchased by Russia from Iran, as Moscow pummels energy crops and different civilian infrastructure simply because the nation shivers within the winter chilly.
Zelenskiy flew in secret to the United States straight after a dangerous go to to the frontline in Bakhmut, the place Ukrainian and Russian troops have each endured heavy tolls over the previous two months.
He wore his trademark inexperienced army fatigues as he held talks with Biden on the White House and addressed lawmakers.
He repeatedly thanked the US for its assist and handed Congress a Ukrainian flag recent from the battlefield.
“Against all odds and doom-and-gloom scenarios,” Zelenskiy mentioned in a speech that drew a standing ovation, “Ukraine is alive and kicking.”
“Your money is not charity,” he added.
“It’s an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way.”
In the southern area surrounding the not too long ago recaptured city of Kherson—which has been shelled persistently by Russian forces—officers mentioned that they had uncovered a grave with six individuals displaying “signs of torture” close to a personal residence.
In jap Ukraine, an AFP reporter visited the frontline village of Bogorodychne, from which the Russians had been pushed out.
Its pre-conflict inhabitants of round 1,000 individuals had been diminished to Yuri Ponomarenko, 54, who returned a number of weeks in the past, and “a mother and son who never left,” he mentioned.
“I felt that I needed to come back, I just had to,” mentioned Ponomarenko, who braved landmines to return residence.
Debris and wrecked vehicles littered the looted village, and the silence was damaged solely by mewing cats.
Putin ally injured
Separately, the previous head of Russia’s house company, Dmitry Rogozin, mentioned Thursday he was injured by shelling in Donetsk, a Russian-controlled metropolis in jap Ukraine, and would want surgical procedure.
Russia broadcast photographs of the closely broken resort and restaurant, with components of the roof destroyed and particles scattered across the rooms and out of doors within the backyard.
Rogozin is an ardent supporter of President Vladimir Putin’s February offensive in Ukraine and is main a staff of army advisors to pro-Russian forces preventing alongside Moscow’s troops.
“Unfortunately, … some areas are still dangerous… but that does not mean that it should prevent officials from performing their duties,” Peskov mentioned in response to the incident.
The deputy head of the presidency, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, introduced earlier Thursday that one Ukrainian civilian was confirmed killed in Russian assaults the day earlier than and 14 injured—together with six wounded in Kherson area. — AFP
