Death toll rises to 28 after Russian attack on Kyiv apartments; Zelenskyy planning to attend Nato summit in The Hague. What we know on day 1,212
Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he was ready to meet with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy but only during a “final phase” of negotiations “so as not to sit there and divide things up endlessly, but to put an end to it”. Putin made his customary false accusation that Zelenskyy is not Ukraine’s legitimate president.
In a round-table interview in St Petersburg with international news agencies, Putin said on Nato: “We do not consider any Nato rearmament to be a threat to the Russian Federation, because we are self-sufficient in terms of ensuring our security.” Russia has brought in thousands of North Korean soldiers to help defend Kursk; and has relied on a flood of arms and ammunition from North Korea as well as Iranian drones and missiles to wage war on Ukraine; while also receiving suspected help from China to continue arming a “special military operation” that Putin thought would be over in three days. The potential collapse of the Iranian regime would be a serious blow to Putin, Russian affairs reporter Pjotr Sauer writes.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to attend the Nato summit in The Hague on 24-25 June, a source in the Ukrainian presidency told the AFP news agency on Wednesday. “The decision will be made on the eve of the summit. This is just the schedule,” the source said, describing the meeting as “an opportunity to maintain support and promote a ceasefire”. Nato leaders want to keep the summit brief so as not to aggravate Donald Trump and his short attention span, the Times has reported (£).
