Ukraine hits Russian warship as negotiator visits US
After the Ukrainian army announced that it opened fire on a Russian warship in the Caspian Sea, Ukraine’s chief negotiator Rustem Umerov came to Miami for a series of meetings with US representatives.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told X that Umerov was tasked with discussing a possible prisoner of war exchange and stepping up diplomatic efforts to end the war.
Ukraine had hoped to see US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner travel to Ukraine earlier this year, but the visit never materialized.
Amid the war in Iran, the US focus has largely shifted away from Ukraine.
US-brokered negotiations have reached an impasse over Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
Russia demands that Ukraine withdraw its troops from the region that it could not capture during its four-year, large-scale occupation.
Ukraine says it will not give up the territory it controls.
“We are in constant communication with the American side and we know the contacts of our partners with the Russian side. We are working to ensure that this helps to approach an honorable peace and guarantee security,” Zelenskiy said. he said.
He added that Umerov received “some specific security-related instructions” regarding bilateral cooperation with the United States.
The last round of trilateral Ukraine-Russia talks, attended by US representatives, took place in February.
Ukrainian and Russian representatives have only held separate meetings with the US team since then.
Ukrainian military said on Thursday that it opened fire on a Russian warship capable of launching Kalibr cruise missiles.
In the statement made by the Ukrainian General Staff on its Facebook account, it was stated that a Karakurt class corvette was hit.
The military released a thermal image that it said showed the ship was most likely captured by the attacking drone after the attack.
The extent of damage is unclear.
According to Ukrainian officials, the corvette was stationed in the city of Kaspiysk in the Russian Republic of Dagestan in the North Caucasus.
US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin had a phone call on April 29 to discuss a possible ceasefire.
Nazi Germany’s World War II war, Russia’s defense ministry said on Thursday. He said he declared a ceasefire from midnight Friday until Sunday to mark the anniversary of his defeat in World War II.
“During the celebration of the 81st anniversary of the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War, the Russian side declares a ceasefire from midnight on May 8 to May 10,” the ministry said in a statement on Telegram. he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Monday that the two-day ceasefire would be observed.
with DPA
