"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.
The Council of Europe on May 14 approved the creation of a special tribunal to prosecute Russia's top leadership for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, Ukrainian lawmaker Maria Mezentseva reported.
President Volodymyr Zelensky commemorating Ukrainian soldiers of the Territorial Defense Forces on the Territorial Defense Day of Ukraine in Kyiv on Oct. 7, 2024. (Oleg Palchyk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
President Volodymyr Zelensky commented on Nov. 17 on recent reports that the U.S. eased restrictions on long-range strikes within Russia, saying that "such things are not announced."
The president made the statement shortly after the New York Times reported that the Biden administration had permitted the use of U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles across the border, namely against Russian and North Korean forces amassing in Russia's Kursk Oblast.
The report has not been publicly confirmed by Washington or Kyiv.
"Today, there’s a lot of talk in the media about us receiving permission for respective actions," Zelensky said in his evening address.
"But strikes are not carried out with words. Such things are not announced. Missiles will speak for themselves."
The decision would come as a major shift in U.S. policy as President Joe Biden has been long adamant about not allowing Western-supplied weapons to be used on Russian soil, fearing an escalation.
Biden first eased the restrictions in May to allow Ukraine to use certain weaponry like HIMARS to strike at Russian troops just across the border in the wake of the Kharkiv offensive. Restrictions on ATACMS, tactical ballistic missiles with a range of 300 kilometers (190 miles), remained in place at the time.
Ukraine will likely initially use the missiles against Russian and North Korean forces in Kursk Oblast, but Washington could also authorize their use elsewhere, the New York Times wrote.
Unnamed U.S. officials, as well as a source familiar with the decision, who spoke to Reuters following the decision, said that Kyiv plans to conduct its first long-range strikes in the coming days.
As the decision came in the last months of Biden's term in office, it remains unclear whether President-elect Donald Trump will uphold the policy after he returns to the White House in January 2025.
Sonya Bandouil
