On May 26, Ukraine continued to announce airstrikes targeting the capital Kiev, while Moscow declared that Russia would not negotiate with the Eastern European country as long as President Volodymyr Zelensky remained in power.
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| Ukraine has reported repeated overnight airstrikes on its capital Kiev. (Source: Getty Images) |
Ukrainian military officials announced that Russian forces conducted several airstrikes on Kiev on the night of May 25 and early morning of May 26. This was the 13th attack since the beginning of May.
The Kiev military agency stated: "According to preliminary information, all enemy targets in the sky over Kiev were detected and destroyed."
At its daily morning meeting, the Ukrainian General Staff said it had recorded 55 airstrikes on May 25, including 36 drone attacks and four missile attacks.
“An S-300 missile hit a dam in the Karlivka area of Donetsk region, creating a great risk of flooding in the surrounding areas,” the report said.
Meanwhile, on May 26, Russian news agencies quoted Deputy Chairman of the country's Security Council Dmitry Medvedev as saying that Moscow would be forced to launch a preemptive strike if the West transferred nuclear weapons to Ukraine.
The former Russian President did not rule out the possibility that the West would transfer fighter jets to Kiev in the current situation, possibly even nuclear weapons.
Besides, Mr. Medvedev - also a former Russian Prime Minister - made it clear: "Any conflict always ends in negotiations and this is inevitable, but as long as Mr. Volodymyr Zelensky is in power in Ukraine, conducting negotiations is impossible."
In another related development, on May 25, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the country had learned that Pope Francis planned to send Cardinal Matteo Zuppi - President of the Italian Bishops' Conference - to Moscow as part of a peace initiative for the conflict in Ukraine.
“We note the Holy See’s sincere desire to facilitate the peace process,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said, but noted that the Vatican has not yet taken any concrete steps to arrange Cardinal Matteo Zuppi’s trip to Moscow.
The agency also reiterated that: “Unlike Russia, which is ready for a sincere and open dialogue to resolve the situation in Ukraine, the Kiev authorities still firmly reject the possibility of negotiations with Moscow and are betting on conflict.”
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