War

Russia is massing troops and preparing strikes against Ukraine: Zelensky gives details

The Russian Federation has begun to actively deploy its troops to the border areas of Sumy region and is preparing offensive operations in several directions. This was stated by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a conversation with journalists, Komersant ukrainskyi reports

The president also drew attention to the build-up of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border and possible new attacks on Sumy, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia regions. According to him, Ukraine will not allow the enemy to easily realize its plans.

“We see the accumulation of troops in the Kursk region. They want to attack Sumy, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions – that’s what we see. But we will not let it happen so easily,” he emphasized.

Zelensky on peace talks

Zelenskyy also spoke about possible peace talks and emphasized the need for specific details from the United States and its role in the process.

“If President Trump can push for details and ensure that the strikes on the energy sector and in the Black Sea stop, this will be the first step. Whatever the case, we will support steps that lead to a reduction in attacks on civilian and military infrastructure,” the head of state noted.

Situation in the Kursk region

According to him, the Ukrainian military continues to fulfill its task in the Kursk region and will remain there as long as necessary. He emphasized that the strategic steps of the Ukrainian army are aimed at preventing the advance of Russian troops.

“Ukrainian military are there and will remain there as long as we need this operation. We see that Putin is talking about the alleged encirclement of our military, but our guys are standing still, proving that this is not true. These are our strategic steps, and we will do everything to prevent his attempts to seize new territories,” Zelensky said.

It should be noted that US President Donald Trump has completed his 2.5-hour phone conversation with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

What the politicians talked about: White House statement

The White House spokesperson Carolyn Levitt spoke about the conversation between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin on social network X. She noted the following:

• Trump and Putin spoke about the need for peace and a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine;
• they emphasized the need to improve bilateral relations between the United States and Russia;
• the “movement towards peace” will begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire, as well as technical negotiations to implement a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, a complete ceasefire and permanent peace;
• peace talks on the war in Ukraine will begin in the Middle East;
• Trump and Putin discussed the need to stop the proliferation of strategic weapons and will work with others to ensure that they are used as widely as possible.

Trump’s conversation with Putin: Russian version

Leading Russian media outlets have reprinted the Kremlin’s official statement following a telephone conversation between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. It reads, in particular, as follows:

• in the context of the idea of a 30-day ceasefire, russia outlined issues related to monitoring a possible ceasefire along the entire line of contact;
• vladimir Putin “positively responded” to the cessation of rocket attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure;
• russia still demands to stop mobilization in Ukraine and the supply of weapons to the Ukrainian military in the context of the idea of a temporary truce;
• Trump supported Putin’s idea to organize hockey matches in the United States and Russia between players from the NHL (National Hockey League – ed.) and KHL (Continental Hockey League – ed.);
• putin told the American leader that he would allegedly hand over 23 seriously wounded Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen to Ukraine;
• the parties agreed to create Russian and American expert groups to “resolve the military conflict (war – ed.) in Ukraine;
• Trump and Putin agree on the need to improve relations between the two countries (Russia and the United States – ed.).

As of now, according to The Washington Post, Russia and the United States have agreed on a partial ceasefire in Ukraine. But this plan still requires the approval of the Ukrainian authorities. First and foremost, we are talking about Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy.