Zelenskyy: Putin 'tries to portray himself as mediator' while attacking Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin for attacking Ukraine's energy infrastructure while trying to "portray himself as a mediator" for the Iran-Israel conflict.
The Ukrainian Air Force said Russian forces attacked Ukraine with 11 missiles and 183 drones from Saturday night through Sunday.
Zelenskyy said in a video address on Sunday that Russian attacks damaged energy facilities in Kremenchuk in the central Ukrainian region of Poltava. He accused Russia of targeting civilian infrastructure.
He said Russia used Iranian drones to attack the energy facilities "to complicate the work of our air defense systems."
On Saturday, Putin spoke with US President Donald Trump by phone and offered Russia's mediation to ease tensions between Israel and Iran.
Zelenskyy said, "Putin tries to portray himself as a mediator for the Middle East and attempts to somehow assist his accomplices in Tehran."
The Russian defense ministry said its forces launched a strike on an oil refinery in the city of Kremenchuk, which it said supplies fuel to the Ukrainian military in the Donbas region.
The Associated Press and other media outlets report that Zelenskyy told reporters on Friday he is concerned that US military support, such as the provision of air-defense systems, might go to Israel rather than to Ukraine.
The question now is how the situation in the Middle East would impact Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Nikkei Asia

5 hours ago

• Nikkei Asia

Iran, Israel launch new attacks after Tehran rules out nuclear talks

People attend an anti-Israel protest after Friday prayers, amid the Iran-Israel conflict, in Tehran, Iran, on June 20. (West Asia News Agency via Reuters) JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Iran and Israel exchanged fresh attacks early on Saturday, a day after Tehran said it would not negotiate over its nuclear program while under threat and Europe tried to keep peace talks alive. Iran's Fars news agency said Israel had targeted the Isfahan nuclear facility, one of the nation's biggest, but there was no leakage of hazardous materials. Iranian media also said Israel had attacked a building in the city of Qom, with initial reports of a 16-year-old killed and two people injured.

Japan Times

5 hours ago

• Japan Times

Can NATO keep Trump on-message about Russia threat?

When leaders from NATO's 32 countries gather for a summit in The Hague next week, most want to send a clear message: Russia is the main threat to their alliance. But the loudest voice in the room likely won't be on the same page. Since coming back to office, U.S. President Donald Trump has upended the West's approach toward Russia's war on Ukraine by undercutting Kyiv and opening the door to closer ties with Moscow. While the volatile leader has expressed some frustration with Russia's Vladimir Putin for refusing a ceasefire, he has steered clear of punishing the Kremlin. At a Group of Seven summit this week Trump made waves by saying the group of industrialized countries should never have expelled Russia. Ahead of the Hague gathering, diplomats at NATO have been wrangling over a five-paragraph summit statement, with many countries pressing for a full-throated assertion of the menace from Moscow. That, they say, will help explain the main thrust of the meeting: an agreement for countries to ramp up defense spending to satisfy Trump's demand for it to reach 5% of GDP. Since the Kremlin launched its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the alliance has called Russia "the most significant and direct threat to allies' security and to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area." But this time around the United States — backed up by Moscow-friendly Hungary and Slovakia — has been intent on watering that down. Diplomats have been juggling with variants such as referring to "threats, including Russia" or mentioning "the long-term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security." The verbal nuances may seem slight, but they mean a lot to those countries being asked to massively ramp up spending and those on NATO's eastern flank most threatened by the Kremlin. NATO has warned that Russia could be ready to attack an alliance country within five years. "If we can get Trump to sign off on calling Russia a long-term threat then that would be a good result," a senior European diplomat said. As U.S. peace efforts between Russia and Ukraine have stalled, the diplomat said that Washington appeared to have "moved a centimeter in our direction" on taking a stronger stance on Russia. "Of course more hawkish countries want to go further — but just getting Trump to agree that would still be fine," the diplomat said. Part of the U.S. reasoning is that Washington is more worried about the threat China poses worldwide — and that Russia is more a problem just in Europe. "Russia is the near threat," said U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker. "But China is obviously a big challenge for all of us, and we need to be allied and address those threats as well." Camille Grand of the European Council on Foreign Relations said that beneath the diplomatic fine-tuning, NATO was being confronted by a "fundamental question." "How does the United States view Russia?" he said. "So far we haven't really got an answer." Even if NATO does opt for stronger wording on Moscow, there is always the possibility that Trump could show up in The Hague and directly contradict it. But the debate could come into sharper focus in the months after the summit when the United States could announce a pullback of forces in Europe as part of a review of its global deployments. One area where Washington appears clearly not on board with most other allies is on backing Ukraine. Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to attend on the sidelines of the summit but his involvement is being kept to a minimum to avoid a bust-up with Trump. Diplomats said there should be a reference in the summit statement linking new defense spending to helping Ukraine — but there will be no talk of Kyiv's long-term push to join NATO. "The U.S. does not see Ukrainian security as essential to European security," said Kurt Volker, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO. "Our European allies do, so they feel that if Putin is allowed to prevail in Ukraine, or if Ukraine does not survive as a sovereign, independent state, they are at risk."

NHK

7 hours ago

• NHK

IAEA chief warns against strike on Iran's nuclear power plant

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said at a UN Security Council meeting that the Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran should not be attacked. At the outset of the emergency meeting held on Friday at Iran's request, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on all the parties to "give peace a chance," amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran. Guterres said that while Iran has repeatedly stated that it is not seeking nuclear weapons, there is a "trust gap." He went on to say that "the only way to bridge that gap is through diplomacy to establish a credible, comprehensive and verifiable solution." IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi told the meeting that strikes on Iranian nuclear sites have not, so far, led to a radiological release affecting the public. But he warned that a direct hit on the Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran, which is in operation, or a hit that disabled the lines supplying electricity to the plant, could result in a high release of radioactivity to the environment. Grossi added that armed attacks on nuclear facilities should never take place. Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon said, "We do not apologize for striking Iran's nuclear facilities." He also said, "We will not stop, not until Iran's nuclear threat is dismantled." Iran's UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said Israeli attacks are in violation of the UN Charter and UN Security Council resolutions, and an assault on the global non-proliferation regime. He also said Iran's nuclear program is peaceful, and under the world's most extensive IAEA inspections.