Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a telephone conversation with his US counterpart, Donald Trump, on Saturday. He congratulated him on the agreement reached in the Middle East and expressed his hope that the same momentum could contribute to ending the war with Russia.
“I had a very positive and productive call with US President Donald Trump. I congratulated @POTUS on his success and the Middle East deal he managed to close, which is an outstanding achievement. If you can stop a war in one region, you can surely stop others, including the war with Russia,” Zelensky posted on his official X account.
During the meeting, the Ukrainian president informed Trump about the recent Russian attacks against Ukraine's energy system and thanked the American leader for his willingness to continue supporting Kyiv."We discussed opportunities to strengthen our air defense and the concrete agreements we are negotiating to ensure this. There are good options and solid ideas on how to truly strengthen ourselves," he added.
Zelensky also stressed that “Russia must be willing to engage in genuine diplomacy” for peace efforts to succeed.
The talks between the two leaders took place amid an intense Russian offensive against the Zaporizhzhia region, where 679 attacks against 14 settlements were recorded in the last 24 hours, leaving at least two dead—a 66-year-old woman and a 7-year-old boy—and 11 wounded, according to the head of the regional military administration, Ivan Fedorov.
Fedorov detailed that the attacks included four missile attacks against the city of Zaporizhia, in addition to 11 air strikes against various locations, causing damage to buildings, homes, and social infrastructure.
For its part, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that its anti-aircraft systems shot down 42 Ukrainian drones over six regions of the country overnight, including 19 in Volgograd and 15 in Rostov.
Amid this escalation, Zelensky ordered the reinforcement of Ukraine's capabilities to carry out long-range attacks in response to Russian bombings that have affected much of the territory.
Meanwhile, US First Lady Melania Trump announced that eight Ukrainian children had been reunited with their families after several months of direct negotiations between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
According to the AP, the process began in August, when Trump personally delivered a letter to the Russian president during a bilateral meeting. This gesture initiated a channel of humanitarian dialogue that allowed for the reunifications to materialize, with the collaboration of U.S. and Ukrainian organizations.
Melania Trump praised the Kremlin's"willingness" to provide key information about the children and called the outcome "a testament to what can be achieved when diplomacy is used with humanity and commitment."
