KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on US President Joe Biden and the Chinese leader Si Jinping will attend an upcoming event on Sunday peace summit While his country is trying to fend off relentless attacks Russia In its 27-month occupation.
Moscow forces have advanced on the battlefield in recent weeks and stepped up air strikes on cities. Kiev hopes the meeting in Switzerland in June will help increase international pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In the English-language video recorded among the charred remains of a printing house destroyed in a Russian airstrike on Thursday, Zelenskyy said the summit “will show who in the world really wants to end the war.”
“I call on world leaders who are excluded from the global efforts of the Global Peace Summit, US leader President Biden and Chinese leader President Xi,” he said.
“Please show your leadership in advancing peace – real peace, not just a pause between attacks.
Russia said it did not see any point in the conference, to which Moscow is not currently invited.
Zelenskyy’s comments came two days after Russian sources told Reuters that Putin was ready to stop the war in Ukraine with a negotiated ceasefire that recognizes current battlefield lines.
Zelenskyy and Ukraine’s supporters say a ceasefire will only help Russia rearm and regroup.
Russia has made slow but steady gains on various parts of its expanded eastern front in recent months and is pushing deeper into the northeastern Kharkiv region following a ground offensive launched earlier this month.
In an interview with Reuters last week, Zelenskyy said it was vital to get as many countries as possible around the table in peace talks. Putin said he believed the talks could turn Ukraine’s demands for Russia’s withdrawal into an ultimatum for Russia.