Volodymyr Zelensky is talking to Donald Trump again. In a “very important and fruitful” call, the Ukrainian leader writes on X, “we talked about opportunities in air defense. And we agreed to work together to strengthen the protection of our skies.”
Words that seem to dispel the shock that has shaken the halls of power in Kiev in recent days over the Pentagon's announcement that it has blocked supplies of American ammunition and anti-aircraft weapons to Ukraine . Weapons that are now more necessary than ever to defend themselves from Russia, which in the meantime continues to carpet bomb every inch of Ukraine with a record number of drones and missiles - 550 in a single night - including the capital engulfed in flames from the fires caused by the raids.
Because at this stage peace is not an option for Moscow : "Achieving" the objectives through diplomatic channels is in fact "impossible", clarified the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov. With Trump "we agreed to organize a meeting between our teams to strengthen air defense capabilities. We discussed joint production in depth", Zelensky reported. An outcome that is certainly not a foregone conclusion, after the halt to American military supplies on which confusion reigns in Washington.
In fact, it appears that the decision was made unilaterally by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, NBC reports, citing sources according to which the suspension of weapons took the State Department and Congress by surprise, while an analysis conducted by senior Defense Department officials revealed that aid to Kiev did not jeopardize US reserves. According to Axios, the tycoon assured his Ukrainian counterpart that the United States wants to help Kiev in air defense.
And this is also the direction taken by Giorgia Meloni, who revealed that she spoke with Trump : «The United States has not stopped supplying weapons and support to Ukraine, they have reviewed the decision to supply specific components». While we await developments, the phone call between Trump and Zelensky still represents an injection of hope for Ukraine, where now more than ever American support is crucial, with the truce remaining distant : to Donald Trump, «Putin reiterated that we are interested in achieving our objectives during the special military operation, and it is preferable to do so through political and diplomatic means. But until this is possible, we will continue our special military operation», this is in fact the horizon of the conflict illustrated by the Kremlin. The tycoon's bitter assessment at the end of Thursday's phone call with the Tsar was therefore explained, which ended with nothing being achieved, proving the stalemate in the peace talks.
The American president admitted that he had made "no progress" during the meeting with his Russian counterpart. And there is still no date for the third round of direct negotiations between Russians and Ukrainians, a month after the last meeting in Turkey, which was essentially unsuccessful - except for the agreement on prisoner exchanges, which continued on the last day. Putin continues to ask for four Ukrainian regions, in addition to Crimea, annexed in 2014, along with Kiev's neutrality. These are unacceptable conditions for Ukraine, which is asking for the withdrawal of Russian troops, who in the meantime continue to advance at the rate of one village conquered per day. Lastly, the settlement of Predtechyne, at the gates of the stronghold of Kostiantynivka.
And things are no better in the rest of Ukraine, where the rain of raids reached a record 550 missiles and drones in a single night, which was "sleepless and brutal", Zelensky commented bitterly. Emergency services reported at least one dead and 26 injured, including a child, while dozens of fires broke out following the bombings, especially in Kiev, where a Polish embassy building was damaged, according to Warsaw. Another cause for concern is the use of chemical weapons: according to a report by the secret services of Germany and the Netherlands, Moscow is in fact intensifying the use of tear gas and chloropicrin, which has become standard practice in violation of the Convention in force on these weapons. For its part, Russia has accused the Ukrainians of having caused four deaths and as many injuries in a missile attack on the city of Donetsk.
(Online Union)
