Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Zelensky: Ukraine will pull out of peace talks if Russia kills Mariupol defenders

President Volodymyr Zelensky gave an unusual press conference for Ukrainian and foreign journalists on the platform of the Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) metro station in Kyiv yesterday.
Photo: EPA/BGNES

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warns he'll call off peace talks with Russia if Mariupol's defenders are killed and "if a pseudo-referendum to create new pseudo-republics" in the occupied territories is announced, Reuters reported.  

At a press conference in Kyiv subway yesterday, Zelensky again called for face-to-face talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war..

Russian forces in Ukraine tried to storm the Azovstal steel plant housing soldiers and civilians in Mariupol on Saturday while attempting to crush the last corner of resistance, the Associated Press reported. The assault on the eve of Orthodox Easter came after the Kremlin claimed its military had seized all of Mariupol except for the Azovstal plant.

The fate of the Ukrainians holed up in the steel mill wasn't immediately clear; earlier Saturday, a Ukrainian volunteer military unit “Azov” released a video in which women and children are shown holed up underground.

In the meanwhile Russia's military pounded other cities and towns in southern and eastern Ukraine. A three-month-old baby was among at least eight people killed after Russian cruise missiles were fired at Odessa, AP has quoted Ukrainian authorities as saying.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will visit Ukraine today, Volodymyr Zelensky said. The country has long awaited a high-profile visit from the US as a sign of support, the BBC said.




Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Fire near Kardzhali Dam poses threat to nearby villages

All night long, fire brigade teams and forest officials made every effort to prevent the large forest fire that broke out yesterday in the late afternoon near the Kardzhali Dam from spreading to the nearby villages of Ridovo and Snezhinkite. The fire..

published on 8/14/25 9:47 AM

Firefighters continue to battle the fire in Pirin Mountain

For the twenty-first day now, the fire in the Pirin Mountain continues to rage . There are thousands of fire outbreaks and they are being fanned by the wind . Two helicopters from the Air Force and two aircraft from European services have joined the..

published on 8/14/25 9:34 AM

Maximum temperatures will drop by 2-3°C during the day

On Thursday , the lowest temperatures will be between 16 and 21°C; in Sofia – about 18°C. During the day it will be sunny over most of the country. In the afternoon hours, there will be temporary increases in cloudiness over the..

published on 8/13/25 7:05 PM