Zelensky says Ukraine ready for ‘de-escalatory steps’
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Ukraine → say → steps
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sept 14 that Ukraine was ready to de-escalate the war with Russia if its rival did the same, after US President Donald Trump announced that the foes had agreed to end strikes on energy targets.
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foes → say → targets
With international oil prices climbing again, Trump had at the weekend berated Ukraine’s attacks on Russian refineries, blaming them for causing a shortage in diesel fuel.
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Trump → climb → fuel
In one of his surprise social media posts, the US leader announced on Sept 14 that “Ukraine has agreed not to hit Russian Energy targets.
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Ukraine → announce → targets
Russia has agreed to do, likewise!”
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Russia → agree → ?
Russia made no immediate comment.
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Russia → make → comment
But in his daily address, Zelensky highlighted “a strong proposal from the United States regarding a mutual halt to strikes on critical infrastructure”.
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Zelensky → highlight → infrastructure
He added: “If this can become the first de-escalatory step – stopping Russian strikes on our critical infrastructure, and ours in response – then Ukraine is ready to support de-escalation.”
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Ukraine → add → escalation
Zelensky said “we see that the Russians are feeling pressure because of our precise responses against Russia’s war economy”.
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Russians → say → economy
He noted that “so far no one has seen any genuine desire from Russia to move toward ending the war”.
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one → note → war
“But if our American partners succeed in securing a real readiness from Russia to stop this war of destroying lives, and to do so sincerely and for the long term, Ukraine will make its own de-escalatory steps.”
Rail strikes get worse
Trump has insisted that the Russia-Ukraine war and not the conflict with Iran, was driving up fuel costs for Americans who vote in crucial midterm elections in November.
A previous push by Trump for a ceasefire has been sidelined by the US-Israeli conflict against Iran, now in its seventh month.
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push → succeed → month
US envoys went to Moscow and Kyiv earlier this month without announcing a breakthrough.
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envoys → go → breakthrough
While Ukraine has hit refineries deep inside Russia, Zelensky has stepped up calls for allies to provide more anti-missile defences as Russia intensifies its attacks.
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Russia → hit → attacks
Russian strikes on Ukraine’s rail network are worsening each week, the CEO of the state Ukrainian Railways operator told AFP on Sept 14, after a strike hit a train frequently used by diplomats near the Polish border at the weekend.
“It’s growing exponentially.
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It → worsen → weekend
Each month, each week is generally worse than the previous one,” said Oleksandr Pertsovsky.
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Pertsovsky → say → one
NATO-member Poland said on Sept 13 that Russia hit a train about 2km from the Polish-Ukraine border, just days after Kyiv officials said road crossing checkpoints on the border with Moldova had been targeted.
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checkpoints → say → Moldova
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Sept 13 that Warsaw had obtained information that Moscow might be planning attacks on border crossings.
uncertain
Moscow → say → crossings
EU delays sanctions deadline
But European Union countries on Sept 14 delayed a deadline for prolonging sanctions on Russia after France pushed for billionaire Alisher Usmanov to be removed from a blacklist, diplomats said.
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diplomats → delay → blacklist
An EU list of almost 3,000 individuals and entities – which needs to be extended every six months – was set to expire by Sept 16.
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which → need → Sept
However ambassadors from the 27 EU member states pushed back the deadline one week after the late efforts from Paris to remove 73-year-old Uzbek-Russian metals tycoon Usmanov drew opposition, the diplomats said.
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diplomats → push → opposition
Usmanov, a former major shareholder in Arsenal football club, was placed on the EU sanctions list in 2022 over what Brussels said were his close ties to the Kremlin.
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Brussels → place → Kremlin
The French move surprised some EU states.
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move → surprise → states
“Renewal of the listings is essential to continue undermining Russia’s war machine, and keeping the pressure on those individuals and entities supporting, enabling and benefitting from it,” a spokesman for Ireland, which currently holds the EU presidency, said.
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which → continue → presidency
The Financial Times reported, quoting people familiar with the issue, that France was making the push as part of a prisoner release deal involving French citizens held in Azerbaijan.
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France → report → Azerbaijan
The Aporia
