Zelensky Urges US and Chinese Presidents to Attend Peace Summit

Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, on Sunday called on Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, the Presidents of the United States and China, to participate in the upcoming leaders' peace summit. Ukraine hopes that many countries will attend the peace summit next month hosted by Switzerland. The aim of this summit is to unify global public opinion on how to stop the war and to exert pressure on Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, who has not been invited. Zelensky, in a message recorded in English inside a destroyed print shop from the Russian missile attack on Kharkiv last Thursday, stated that over 80 countries will participate in the summit. It is still unclear whether Biden and Xi will attend the summit. The Ukrainian President urged his American and Chinese counterparts to demonstrate their leadership 'in advancing peace, real peace and not just a pause in attacks.' According to him, the leaders' peace summit will show who in the world wants to end the war. Kyiv's peace plan calls for the complete withdrawal of Russian forces and the restoration of the country's internationally recognized borders. Moscow opposes this plan. Russian sources told Reuters last week that Putin is ready to stop the war by establishing a ceasefire that would recognize the battlefield lines. Dmitry Kuleba, Ukraine's Foreign Minister, in response to this news, reminded that Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities continue, stating that Putin fears the success of the leaders' peace summit in Switzerland and is therefore trying to derail it. Russia had previously stated that it sees no reason to hold this peace conference. In recent months, Russian forces have made gradual advances on the battlefronts in eastern Ukraine and have begun a ground assault on the Kharkiv region in northeastern Ukraine for several weeks. The city of Kharkiv has recently been the target of deadly Russian attacks. Seven Ukrainian citizens residing in Kharkiv were killed in the Thursday attack on a print shop, and at least 14 others were killed in the attack on Saturday. Zelensky warned in his message that Putin's troops are preparing to attack the northwestern areas of Kharkiv along the border of the two countries. Meanwhile, the commander of the Ukrainian army announced last week that his forces are preparing to counter a potential Russian attack on the 'Sumy' region adjacent to Kharkiv. The President of the United States emphasized that we will not send troops to Ukraine. The Russian attack on a store in Kharkiv left at least two dead and 33 injured. The G7 will use frozen Russian assets to assist Ukraine. Zelensky stated, 'We have combat control' over the northern areas of Kharkiv. Reuters reported that Putin is ready to end the war with Ukraine. Amidst intense fighting in 'Kharkiv,' Volodymyr Zelensky visited the city.