Russia bombarded Kiev with missiles and drones overnight Wednesday into Thursday, killing at least 12 people in the biggest attack on the Ukrainian capital this year, prompting rare criticism from Donald Trump, who told the Russian leader: "Vladimir, STOP!"
The attack, as Reuters points out, came at a crucial moment in the war in Ukraine as Kiev and Moscow try to show Trump that they are making progress toward his goal of a quick peace agreement.
The attack, which the US president said was "unnecessary" and came "at a very bad time" as he pushes for peace, injured at least 90 people, destroyed buildings and started dozens of fires, Ukrainian officials said.
Rescue teams were working at 13 locations in Kiev, with the help of mountaineering experts and sniffer dogs, the emergency services said. "Mobile phones can be heard ringing under the rubble. The search will continue until it is completely clear that everyone has been found," the statement said.
"I am not happy with the Russian attacks on KIEV. They are unnecessary and come at a very bad time. Vladimir, STOP IT! 5000 soldiers are dying every week. Let's FINISH the peace deal!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The White House has threatened to abandon its efforts if progress is not made soon. Trump on Wednesday sharply criticized Volodymyr Zelensky for a statement in which the Ukrainian president reiterated that Kiev would not recognize Russia's occupation of Crimea.
Trump, as reported by Reuters, has used a noticeably softer tone in his statements about Putin than he did towards Zelensky, whom he once called a "dictator." Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is scheduled to meet with Putin today to continue talks. At that meeting, the US will demand that Russia accept Ukraine's right to have its own military and defense industry, Bloomberg reported yesterday, citing sources familiar with the situation.
Zelensky, who cut short a visit to South Africa yesterday after the Russian attack, said he saw no signs that Washington was exerting strong pressure on Russia.
In the peace talks brokered by the United States, Ukraine wanted to keep the issue of control over Crimea out of the discussion, the New York Times reports. Ukraine, according to the American newspaper, has sought an immediate ceasefire, a freeze on fighting along the existing front line, and security guarantees against repeated attacks, such as the deployment of a European peacekeeping force or eventual membership in NATO.
But the Trump administration this week rejected that approach. Its proposal included accepting Russian rule over Crimea and barring Ukraine from joining NATO. In exchange, hostilities would cease along the current front lines.
In private conversations, Ukrainian officials have expressed a willingness to halt the fighting on the front lines. Given Russia's current momentum on the battlefield, they acknowledge that such an outcome could be in Ukraine's favor, the Times reports.
Mykhailo Samus, director of the New Geopolitics Research Network think tank in Kiev, told that the peace talks are more likely to fail over the issue of Crimea recognition than over a ceasefire on the front lines. "The Crimea issue is the main reason why the talks are likely to fail," he said.
Among Ukrainian officials, negotiating the status of Crimea is considered politically risky.
In Kiev, officials recall that predecessors who signed a lease extension for a Russian naval base in Crimea in 2010, before the annexation in 2014 and the Russian invasion in 2022, were later charged with treason.
Ukrainians also point out that recognizing Russian rule over Crimea would violate the principles of post-war Europe, which oppose changing borders by force.
“No Ukrainian president will ever have the authority to recognize Crimea as part of Russia, because it was occupied by force,” Oleksandra Matviychuk, a Ukrainian human rights lawyer and winner of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, told The New York Times.
Although Trump said that "nobody" is asking Ukraine to recognize Crimea as Russian territory, it is not clear whether the American proposal would imply that Washington would recognize Crimea as such - which would represent a turn in years of US foreign policy, the Associated Press agency points out.
Back in 2017, Trump’s then-Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, declared at a meeting attended by the Russian Foreign Minister: “We will never accept Russia’s occupation and attempted annexation of Crimea.” A year later, his successor, Mike Pompeo, reiterated that the US rejected the attempted annexation.
Zelensky recalled Pompeo's statement in a post on the X network on Wednesday, adding: "We are completely confident that our partners, and especially the United States, will act in accordance with their firm decisions."
The French Foreign Ministry responded to Trump's criticism of Zelensky over his stance on Crimea. "The principle of Ukraine's territorial integrity is not negotiable," ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said.
Turkey has also been a staunch opponent of the recognition of Russian sovereignty in Crimea, expressing solidarity with the Tatar population there and concern about the security consequences of a recognized Russian military presence on the peninsula.
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