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.
Yulia Navalnaya in Brussels, Belgium on Feb. 19, 2024 (Didier Lebrun/Photonews via Getty Images)
Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, lashed out at Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in a video released on Feb. 24, criticizing Russian authorities for their failure to release Navalny's remains to his family nine days after his death.
Navalny, Putin's main political opponent, died on Feb. 16 in a penal colony in the town of Kharp, Yamal Nenets Autonomous District. He had been convicted in several fabricated criminal cases as part of the Kremlin's crackdown on dissent.
Leaders around the world have blamed Putin for his death. Opinions differ on whether his death was caused by the harsh prison conditions or was an intentional murder.
The Russian government is still refusing to give Navalny's body to his family.
"This is not even hatred - this is some kind of Satanism, paganism. What are you planning to do with his body? How far will you go to mock the man you killed?" Navalnaya said.
Believers of the Orthodox Christian faith typically commemorate nine days and then 40 days after a person's death. According to Navalny's widow, he was very religious.
In the video, Navalnaya said that Putin is "holding (Navalny's) body hostage" and "mocking his mother" by attempting to coerce her into agreeing to a secret funeral so that people cannot publicly pay their respects. Otherwise, they are threatening to bury his body on the grounds of the penal colony where he died.
Navalnaya took this situation to call out Putin's repeated public stunts over the years to portray himself as a man of faith. He has often invoked "traditional values" in an effort to attack more vulnerable members of Russian society, like the LGBT community.
"We knew before that Putin's faith was fake, but now we see it more clearly than ever. Faith is not about kissing an icon. Faith is about goodness, about mercy, about salvation," she said.
"You are mocking the remains of the deceased. It is impossible to imagine greater devilry. You break every law: both human and divine."
Navalny's mother said on Feb. 22 that investigators had shown her Navalny's body. She said that the investigators had stated that they would only transfer the body to her if she agreed to a secret funeral, as opposed to a public one.
On Feb. 23, Navalny's team said that the investigators had threatened Navalny's mother and issued an ultimatum. They said that, if she did not agree to a secret funeral within three hours, they would bury Navalny at the penal colony, according to Navalny's team.
We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.
Oleg Sukhov
