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Russian troops have seized another three settlements along the frontlines over the weekend, as Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelensky slammed the US and its allies over their apparent “silence” following Moscow’s attacks.
The Kremlin’s invasion force has taken the villages of Stupochky and Otradne in the Donetsk region, as well as the village of Loknya in the Sumy region, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
Moscow touted the advances as evidence that its troops were slowly but surely chipping away at Kyiv’s defenses, with the assaults coming after Russia reportedly launched 367 drones and missiles across 30 Ukrainian cities and villages on Saturday night.
Reacting to the overnight barrage, which killed at least 12 people, Zelensky asked where was the international condemnation against Moscow and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“The silence of America, the silence of others in the world only encourages Putin,” Zelensky said in a statement.
“Every such terrorist Russian strike is reason enough for new sanctions against Russia,” he added, referencing Washington’s refusal to punish Moscow for repeatedly rejecting cease-fire deals.
Kyiv also refuted Russia’s claims that it had taken the three villages as of Sunday, claiming that its troops are still in the territories.
While neither side’s claims can be independently verified due to the intense fighting, a popular Ukrainian military blog confirmed that Russians have, for the first time, “been able to take up positions” along border villages in Sumy.
Kyiv has accused Moscow of pushing for as much territorial gains as possible as the US continues to back off pressure against Putin.
Despite claiming that he would end the war on “day one” of his second presidential term, President Trump has now suggested he could walk away entirely from the negotiating table.
The US also refused to join the UK in announcing a new round of sanctions against Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” last week, targeting the roughly 200 ships used to transport Russian oil across the globe.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration would continue to push a bill to impose a 500% tariff on buyers of Russian oil and gas if no progress is made on a peace deal, but added that it may still back off at Trump’s will.
“[The president] believes that right now, you start threatening sanctions, the Russians will stop talking, and there’s value in us being able to talk and drive them to get to the table,” Rubio said in a statement.
With Post wires
English (US)