Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and head of military intelligence Kyrill Budanov (File)

Saturday’s Coverage: Russia Murders 2+, Injures 38+ in Attacks on Kyiv

Seeking the Trump Administration’s support against Russia’s invasion — despite the collusion of some Administration officials with the Kremlin — Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has praised the “constructive approach” of the US.

In his nightly address to the nation, Zelensky referred to the Ukrainian delegation arriving in the US on Saturday evening, following up meetings in Geneva last weekend.

The dialogue based on the Geneva points will continue. Diplomacy remains active. The American side is demonstrating a constructive approach, and in the coming days it is feasible to flesh out the steps to determine how to bring the war to a dignified end.

Colluding with Vladimir Putin’s senior economic advisor Kirill Dmitriev, Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner developed a Russian initiative for Kyiv’s surrender of territory and long-term restrictions on the rest of Ukraine.

However, Kyiv’s European partners established a counter-proposal in Geneva, obtaining the support of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The Ukrainian delegation in the US this week will be led by military intelligence head Kyrill Budanov and Rustem Umerov, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council. They succeed Zelensky’s former Chief of Staff Andrii Yermak, who resigned on Friday because he is under investigation in a $100 million corruption case.

Zelensky also spoke about Russia’s mass strikes across Ukraine early Saturday, with the firing of almost 600 drones and 36 missiles.

The President noted that almost 560 UAVs and 19 missiles were intercepted as the Russians targeted energy infrastructure and other civilian sites.

Six civilians were murdered and dozens wounded in air alerts that lasted nine hours.

Zelensky assured:

We are preparing for next week’s work with our partners, including to ensure a higher quality of our air defense. We are very much counting on our partners’ support.