President Volodymyr Zelensky marked the 34th Ukrainian Independence Day with a Kyiv parade and speeches where he said the world needs to push Russia to a point where Ukraine has “guaranteed peace”.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, reminding that Canada — which has a large Ukrainian diaspora following the Second World War — was the first country to recognise Ukrainian independence in 1991, joined President Zelensky in Kyiv on Sunday. Standing side by side at commemorative events and at a joint press conference, Carney heard Zelensky give updates on the war and make a call for forcing Russia to peace.
Zelensky said, in comments that shortly followed a message from U.S. President Donald Trump implying it would be worthwhile for Ukraine to launch greater strikes into Russia itself, that: “We are strong and not alone. Every day we are pushing this war back to where it came from, to the Russian sky and Russian soil… The pressure on Russia and their real losses are increasing. We know their real losses are increasing. We know that peace is coming.”
The Ukrainian President continued: “We need a just peace, a peace where our future will be decided only by us… Ukraine has not yet won, but it has certainly not lost.”
In all, he said on Sunday, the world needs to “push Russia to peace”.
Speaking alongside Carney at their joint press conference later, Zelensky underlined these themes, stating there has to be a “greater push for pressure on Russia” and that “we still need to put pressure on Russia, to end this was with dignity, with security, and guaranteed peace”.
The comments on forcing Russia to peace come as accusations swirl between Russia and Ukraine of sabotage of Trump’s peace process, each claiming the other is throwing roadblocks in the way of President Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin actually meeting.
Both sides claim they are ready to meet and both state the other is setting unacceptable conditions. Ukraine insists it is ready to talk, Zelensky said on Sunday “talks between leaders is the most effective way forward” and said last week: “it is at the leadership level that the issue of ending the war should be resolved, but we now see that the Russians are doing everything they can to prevent the meeting from taking place. Unlike Russia, Ukraine is not afraid of any meetings with leaders. We are ready to work productively, to the maximum extent possible.”
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