Today marks three years since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. During these three years, Putin's troops have relentlessly besieged Ukrainians, achieving significant victories and conquering territories, especially in the east of the country. Ukraine has managed to keep its capital, Kiev, out of Putin's grasp and launched a counterattack last August, seizing Russian territories in the border region of Kursk. Tonight, Russian forces have once again bombed Ukraine with 185 drones.
On this third anniversary, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is in Kiev accompanied by 24 of her 27 commissioners and the President of the European Council, António Costa, in a visit aimed at reaffirming the EU's support for Ukraine.
This highlighted date comes in a context marked by unilateral contacts initiated by the U.S. President Donald Trump's administration with Russia. The friendly tone shown by Trump towards Russian President Vladimir Putin, and his reproaches and threats to Zelenski, are causing growing concern in Kiev and major European capitals.
Zelenski calls for the release of all prisoners of war as a first step towards peace
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenski suggested on Monday an exchange of prisoners leading to the release of all captives from both sides as a first step towards a negotiated end to the war, reports Efe.
Zelenski advocated for addressing the process gradually, with steps that contribute to building trust in the negotiations.
"And one of these steps could be the release of prisoners. Thousands. Thousands of people detained by Russia. And some of them have been detained not since 2022, but much earlier, since 2014. Russia must release the Ukrainians," Zelenski said in his opening speech at the international summit in support of Ukraine being held today in Kiev.
Xi tells Putin he is "happy to see positive efforts" to end the war
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation on Monday in which the Chinese leader stated that Beijing is "happy" to see that Russia and other parties are making "positive efforts" to end the war in Ukraine, reports Efe.
"China is happy to see that Russia and the relevant parties are making positive efforts to defuse this crisis," Xi said in the conversation, according to the state news agency Xinhua, which took place on the third anniversary of the war in Ukraine.
Xi also stated that the ties between China and Russia have a "strong internal driving force" and a "unique strategic value," and that both countries are "good neighbors" and "true friends" who support each other in pursuit of "common development."
The Kremlin says Europe wants to "prolong" the conflict in Ukraine, unlike the U.S.
The Kremlin stated on Monday that it wants to find a solution to the Ukrainian conflict, along with the United States, and accused Europe of wanting hostilities to continue, reports Afp.
"The Europeans continue on the path (...) of continuing the war," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov accused journalists. "This conviction of the Europeans contrasts completely with the desire to reach an agreement on Ukraine, which is what we are currently doing with the Americans," he added.