The US and Ukraine are turning a deaf ear to Russia’s concerns, the Kremlin said on Thursday. The development comes following a historic visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the United States on Wednesday.
The highly sensitive trip came after 10 months of a brutal war that has seen tens of thousands of casualties on both sides and devastation for Ukrainian civilians.
Commenting on the meeting between both the leaders, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “We can say with regret that so far neither President Biden nor President Zelenskyy have said even a few words that could be perceived as potential readiness to listen to Russia’s concerns.”
“Not a single word was heard warning Zelenskyy against the continued shelling of residential buildings in towns and villages in Donbas and there were no real calls for peace,” Mr Peskov said.
“This suggests that the United States is continuing its line of de facto fighting an indirect war with Russia to the last Ukrainian,” he added.
Zelenskyy travelled to Washington aboard a US Air Force jet.
The visit had been long sought by both sides, but the right conditions only came together in the last 10 days, US officials said.
President Zelenskyy enjoyed a hero’s welcome on a lightning trip to Washington where US President Joe Biden committed nearly $1.8 billion in military supplies including, for the first time, the Patriot missile defence system.
Hours before the Ukrainian president’s visit to the US, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow would next year continue developing its military potential and the combat readiness of its nuclear forces.
ZELENSKYY THANKS AMERICANS
Zelenskyy spent less than 10 hours in Washington. He, however, told cheering US legislators that against all odds, his country still stands.
The Ukrainian president thanked Americans for helping to fund the war effort with money that is “not charity,” but an “investment” in global security and democracy.
Zelenskyy called the tens of billions of dollars in US military and economic assistance provided over the past year vital to Ukraine’s efforts to beat back Russia and appealed for even more in the future.
“Your money is not charity,” he sought to reassure both those in the room and those watching at home.
“It’s an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way,” he said.
Declaring in his speech that Ukraine “will never surrender,” Zelenskyy warned that the stakes of the conflict were greater than just the fate of his nation — that democracy worldwide is being tested.