Location at a glance: Selenskyj indicates more counterattacks

According to the words of its President Wolodymyr Selenskyj, Ukraine has to break away from the permanent state of constant defense against Russian attacks and actively attack itself. “This war has to be ended, we have to put pressure on Russia,” said Selenskyj in his evening video address. Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin understand “nothing but power and pressure”.

The Ukrainian army will continue to protect the country and the people. But US President Donald Trump is absolutely right that this does not only have to be done in defense, said the Ukrainian President.

Trump draws comparison to sport

Trump wrote on Thursday on his Truth Social platform: “It is very difficult, if not impossible to win a war without attacking the invasor country.” He also wrote: “It is like a big sports team that has a fantastic defense but is not allowed to play offensive. There is no chance to win.” His predecessor Joe Biden has not allowed Ukraine to strike back.

The Ukrainian armed forces have already had counterattacks in the past few days, such as in the Sumy region in the northeast and near Pokrowsk in the southeast. At Pokrowsk, there were initial successes, said army chief Olexander Syrskyj on Telegram. Six places were recaptured there. The reports could not be checked independently.

However, a large offensive Ukrainian troops in the summer of last year broke the deeply staggered Russian lines of defense. Russian military had previously created deep minefields in the expected thrust and protected them with massive artillery.

Also maintain diplomatic efforts

Selenskyj continued that, apart from the military missions, Ukraine also wanted to maintain diplomatic efforts in order to find ways to negotiate and peace. Among other things, military management is in contact with foreign partners to work on the military component of the security guarantees for Ukraine.

It is under discussion that European partners secure Ukraine after a peacekeeping with troop presence. But Russia has different ideas. According to the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the Veto powers of the UN Security Council, including Russia, should guarantee peace. Since Russia could block an assignment at any time, this variant for Kyiv is out of the question.

Selenskyj: Russia is not interested in peace

Ukraine has been defending itself against a Russian invasion for almost three and a half years. After the Alaska summit on Friday last week, US President Trump, the Ukrainian President Selenskyj and top European politician on Monday, advised a peace process for Ukraine. Next, according to Trump’s ideas, a meeting of Putin with Selenskyj is to take place. So far, Moscow has been evading.

Selenskyj now accused Moscow of not being interested in peace. “To be honest, the signals from Russia are currently simply indecent,” he said. “They try to get out of the need for a meeting. They do not want to end this war. They continue their massive attacks against Ukraine and their very violent attacks on the front.”

Kallas: Putin is not interested in negotiations

The EU foreign commissioner Kaja Kallas also accused Putin not to be interested in negotiations. “He has no interest in sitting down at a table. This is only about time,” said Kallas in ZDF- “Today Journal”. “It is clear that the Americans, the Ukrainians and Europeans want to peace. But what we saw from the Russian side is that they only play games and that they formulate obstacles.”

Above all, the question of security guarantees is essential for permanent peace in Ukraine, Kallas said. “With the security guarantees, it is clear that they not only have to be on paper, but they have to be credible and robust and actually work, and for that we need all parties that can bring these security guarantees to the table.”