Source : NEW INDIAN EXPRESS NEWS
Fighting goes on
On Saturday, there were few signs of any progress towards halting the fighting that has dragged on for more than three years, destroyed large swathes of Ukraine and displaced millions of people.
The bus, which was attacked near the city of Bilopillya, was evacuating civilians to Sumy, head of the local Bilopillya community Yuri Zarko told Suspilne TV.
Ukraine’s Sumy border region has come under increasing deadly bombardments by Moscow since March when Ukrainian forces were pushed out of Russia’s neighbouring Kursk region, which they had partially controlled since the summer of 2024.
Furthermore, two people were killed and 13 wounded in the southeastern Kherson region, after a Russian shelling hit a residential area and a truck carrying humanitarian aid on Saturday morning.
In the eastern Kharkiv region, right on the border with Russia, two people were killed and about a dozen were wounded as a result of Russian aerial attacks over the past 24 hours.
The latest attacks came after three people were killed in Russian strikes on Friday on Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and southeastern Kherson regions, as the talks were ongoing.
‘Real steps’ needed
French President Emmanuel Macron said he was sure that US counterpart Donald Trump would “react” to Putin’s “cynicism” on Ukraine following the deadly minibus attack.
Putin had declined to travel to Turkey for the meeting, with Zelenskyy accusing him of being “afraid” and Russia of not taking the talks “seriously.”
“Yesterday in Istanbul, everyone saw a weak and unprepared Russian delegation with no significant powers. This must change. We need real steps to end the war,” Zelenskyy said on Saturday.
The Ukrainian leader attended a European summit in Albania alongside the leaders of France, Germany, Britain and Poland, among others, where he urged a “strong reaction” from the world if the Istanbul talks failed, including new sanctions.
French President Emmanuel Macron said European nations were coordinating with the United States on additional sanctions against Russia should Moscow continue to refuse an “unconditional ceasefire.”
Both Moscow and Washington have talked up the need for a meeting on the conflict between Putin and US President Donald Trump.
Trump has said “nothing’s going to happen” on the conflict until he meets Putin face-to-face.
During the Istanbul talks, a Ukrainian source told AFP that Russia was advancing hardline territorial demands that Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhy called “unacceptable.”
Moscow claims annexation of five Ukrainian regions — four since its 2022 invasion, and Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.
SOURCE :- NEW INDIAN EXPRESS
