Trump, Zelensky i Ukraine peace, potential for Putin Summit
President Donald Trump said there was a “rational opportunity” to end the war in Ukraine after talks with President Voldymee Zelensky.
August 19 (Reuters) – Russia attacked Ukrainian central city Klemenchuk with overnight drones, the mayor on Tuesday called a sign that Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn’t want peace.
The reported attacks said the day after President Donald Trump met with European leaders and Washington’s Ukrainian president, Voldimi Zelensky, the United States would help ensure Ukraine’s security in any deal to end the Russian war.
After Monday’s meeting, Trump called Putin and began arranging a meeting between Putin and Zelensky, saying a trilateral summit will continue between the three presidents with the aim of reaching a peace deal.
“When President Putin was ensuring he wanted peace in Trump over the phone, and when President Voldimee Zelensky was in discussions with European leaders in the White House on fair peace, Putin’s army launched an even larger attack on Clementcu, the city’s mayor, Vitali Maletsky, who lied to Telegram.
“Again, the world has seen Putin not wanting peace. He wants to destroy Ukraine,” he said.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, the one-night attack on Ukraine was the largest ever in August when Russia fired 270 drones and 10 missiles.
Maletsky said many explosions have shaken the city, targeting energy and transport infrastructure, preventing hundreds of people in the Poltaba region from exerting power.
The Ukrainian Air Force said it had defeated 230 drones and six missiles, but recorded strikes at 16 locations.
Poltava Governor Volodymyr Kohut said the attack damaged the management buildings of local energy infrastructure operations.
“Fortunately, there were no casualties,” Kohut said in the telegram. He said that nearly 1,500 homes and 119 commercial clients were left without power in the Lubny area.
According to Governor Viacheslav Chaus, a Russian drone attack in Russia’s Chernikv region on Tuesday morning damaged infrastructure due to reported blackouts in parts of the northern region.
There were no immediate comments from Russia. Both sides are targeting the keys of military infrastructure in their strikes during war on each other’s territory, including energy infrastructure.
Russia said Tuesday that an overnight drone attack in Ukraine set fire to the roofs of oil refineries and hospitals in the Volgograd region.
(Reporting by Lydia Kelly of Melbourne and Anastasia Malenko of Kiev, written by Lydia Kelly, edited by Tom Hoag and Kim Kogill)
