Ukraine war briefing: With no Miami breakthrough, Zelenskyy turns to European allies
Positive tone after Florida talks with Ukrainian president heading to London Street to see Starmer, Macron and Merz. What we know on day 1,383Three days of talks between Ukrainian and...
By Warren Murray with Guardian writers and agencies · The Guardian World
Positive tone after Florida talks with Ukrainian president heading to London Street to see Starmer, Macron and Merz. What we know on day 1,383 Three days of talks between Ukrainian and US officials in Miami, Florida produced no evident breakthrough by the end of Saturday. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said he joined his negotiators for a “very substantive and constructive” call with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. “ Ukraine is committed to continuing to work honestly with the American side to bring about real peace,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram, adding that the parties agreed on the next steps and a format for talks. Zelenskyy will next turn to European allies when he visits London on Monday for an in-person meeting with leaders Keir Starmer of Britain, Emmanuel Macron of France and Friedrich Merz of Germany . Macron said the group would “take stock” of peace negotiations. The four leaders took part in a virtual meeting of the “coalition of the willing” about two weeks ago, where they discussed plans to put a European peacekeeping force in Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire. Russia launched more than 700 drones and missiles at Ukraine over Friday night, targeting critical infrastructure, such as energy sites and railways, and triggering heating and water outages for thousands of households. “The main targets of these strikes, once again, were energy facilities,” Zelenskyy said. “Russia’s aim is to inflict suffering on millions of Ukrainians.” Macron, the French president, slammed what he called Russia’s “escalatory path”, adding: “We will continue these efforts with the Americans to provide Ukraine with security guarantees, without which no robust and lasting peace will be possible. We must continue to exert pressure on Russia to compel it to choose peace.” The protective shield over the Chornobyl disaster nuclear reactor in Ukraine , which was hit by a drone in February, can no longer perform its main function of blocking radiation , the Int…