European and U.S. officials, including Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, reportedly convinced Zelensky that attending the peace talks would reflect positively on Kyiv, diplomats told the Washington Post.
"We discussed in detail the logic of further steps and shared our approaches... It is critical that Russia reciprocate Ukraine's constructive steps. So far, it has not. Moscow must understand that rejecting peace comes at a cost," Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said.
"I am waiting to see who will come from Russia, and then I will decide which steps Ukraine should take. So far, the signals from them in the media are unconvincing," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The air raid was announced at around 2:30 p.m. local time, while the explosion sounded around 2:50 p.m. The number of victims killed rose to three, Sumy Oblast Governor Oleh Hryhorov reported at 8:42 p.m.
If confirmed, the decision would mark the first time since Russia's full-scale invasion that President Volodymyr Zelensky is absent, either physically or virtually, from a NATO summit.
The disclosure follows a warning from Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski, who on May 6 said Moscow was carrying out an "unprecedented" interference campaign.
Brazilian President Lula da Silva claimed that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha had appealed to his Brazilian counterpart, Mauro Vieira, to ask Putin if he was willing to conclude a peace agreement.
Earlier reporting from the Washington Post cited a former Russian official who claimed Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, would represent Moscow in the talks.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during a press conference at the European Council summit on Dec. 15, 2023. (European Council)
The EU has sent the final tranche of 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) in macro-financial assistance for 2023, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Dec. 21.
The tranche is part of an 18 billion euro ($19.6 billion) support package for 2023, known as the Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) package for Ukraine, which was disbursed monthly throughout the year.
The package aims to assist Ukraine with paying for essential public services, maintaining macroeconomic stability, and restoring critical infrastructure destroyed by Russian attacks.
"We must find an agreement to keep providing Ukraine with the support it needs to recover, rebuild and reform," said von der Leyen.
Hungary blocked a 50 billion euro ($55 billion) package from the EU on Dec. 15, prompting EU leaders to strategize about how to overcome Hungary's obstructionism.
The European Council will reconvene in February to discuss the funding package.
While EU leaders said they would prefer to reach an unanimous decision, von der Leyen noted that alternative options are also considered in case Hungary continues to block the plan.
"It is also necessary to work on potential alternatives to have an operation solution... if unanimity is not possible," von der Leyen noted.
French President Emmanuel Macron also voiced confidence that the bloc's remaining members would be able to financially support Ukraine even without Orban's approval.
Oleksiy Sorokin
