MAD Vladimir Putin breached the naval ceasefire with a missile blitz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed, in the latest snub of US President Trump’s peace effort.
In a video address, Zelensky said the missiles were fired from Russian ships stationed in the Black Sea on Sunday after warning that Moscow was stepping up its aerial attacks.
EPAThe site of a rocket strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Sunday[/caption]
EPAThe site after a glide bomb hit a high-storey residential building in Kupiansk of the Kharkiv area, Ukraine, on Sunday[/caption]
EPAUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine[/caption]
He added that Russia is refusing to accept an unconditional ceasefire so Putin can continue launching missile strikes from the Black Sea.
Zelensky said in his evening address: “This is one of the reasons why Russia is distorting diplomacy, why it is refusing to agree to an unconditional ceasefire – they want to preserve their ability to strike our cities and ports from the sea.”
It comes after heinous attacks over the weekend, with one Russian missile strike killing at least 19 people, including at least nine children.
It remains unclear if Zelensky was referring to this attack when claiming Russia had fired from the Black Sea.
Zelensky slammed the lack of a US response to Russia’s refusal to agree “a full, unconditional ceasefire” following the weekend’s heinous attacks.
Ukraine has agreed to an unconditional truce in the more than three-year-long war proposed by the US but mad Vlad has continuously refused to do so.
Zelensky said: “We are waiting for the United States to respond — so far there has been no response.”
Russia attempted to gloat the capture of a village in Ukraine’s Sumy region in a rare cross-border advance, but Ukraine has branded the boast as “disinformation”.
And earlier, Putin “launched a massive nationwide attack on Ukraine using ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones”, Ukraine’s first deputy prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko revealed.
Zelensky warned that “the number of Russian air attacks is increasing”, therefore proving that “the pressure on Russia is still insufficient”.
What is the naval ceasefire?
RUSSIA and Ukraine agreed to a naval ceasefire in the Black Sea, brokered by the US.
The deal, announced by Washington at the end of March, aimed to reopen a key trade route and includes a commitment to “develop measures” to uphold a ban on attacking each other’s energy infrastructure.
But Russia said the ceasefire wouldn’t kick in until sanctions on its food and fertiliser trade are lifted.
That also included reconnecting key banks to SwiftPay, easing restrictions on Russian-flagged vessels, and lifting curbs on agricultural machinery imports.
The White House said it would “help restore Russia‘s access to the world market for agricultural and fertiliser exports,” though it’s unclear when the agreement comes into force.
President Zelensky welcomed the deal as “the right meetings, the right decisions, the right steps” — but called the US concession a “weakening of positions.”
He later accused Moscow of lying, saying the ceasefire shouldn’t depend on lifting sanctions.
Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said third countries could monitor parts of the agreement and warned that Russian warships straying outside the eastern Black Sea would be seen as “a threat to the national security of Ukraine.”
“In this case Ukraine will have full right to exercise right to self-defence,” he added.
The agreement also revives hopes for safe commercial shipping in the Black Sea — crucial for global grain exports — but with both sides trading accusations of fresh attacks, doubts remain over how long the fragile truce will hold.
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