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.
A part of destroyed Su-25 Russian military aircraft is displayed at the National Museum of Military History of Ukraine in Kyiv, Ukraine 8 May, 2022. (STR/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Ukrainian forces shot down a Russian Su-25 fighter jet in the Pokrovsk sector on June 10, Ukraine's General Staff reported.
Russia is carrying out intense attacks in multiple sections of the eastern front, which covers much of Donetsk Oblast, after it captured the city of Avdiivka in February. The Pokrovsk direction is the hottest spot on the battlefield, the military said.
The Soviet-designed Su-25, nicknamed "Frogfoot" by NATO, is a heavily armored ground-attack aircraft that provides close air support for Russian ground troops.
Several Russian Su-25s were reportedly shot down last month, including two on May 23.
Russia's total losses during the all-out war amount to about 685 aircraft — 359 planes and 326 helicopters, according to Ukraine's General Staff.
The General Staff's figure could not be independently verified.
Abbey Fenbert
