Zelensky Hopes for ‘Constructive’ Meeting With Trump Envoy Thursday

Lindsey Grahamsenator

When it comes to blame for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, I blame Putin above all others,

Graham added in a post on X, claiming

A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left. In the meantime, we are successfully negotiating an end to the War with Russia, something all admit only ‘TRUMP,’ and the Trump Administration, can do,

Trump said

Dmitry Medvedevformer russian President

If you'd told me just three months ago that these were the words of the US president, I would have laughed out loud. [Trump] is 200 percent right [about Zelenskyy]. Bankrupt clown."

Dmitry Medvedev, a top Kremlin security official, remarked

We held elections during World War Two. Britain held elections during World War Two. If they're a democracy, they should hold elections. I don't think that's difficult,

he told reporters Thursday

As always, Senator Graham is constructive and doing a lot to help bring peace closer,

he said

I am confident that we will end it, and with a lasting peace. And so that Russia cannot come to Ukraine again, and so that Ukrainians return from Russian captivity, and so that Ukraine has a future. This is a normal desire of every nation,

he said

Sergey Lavrovforeign Minister

The first is probably the most urgent and certainly not the most difficult. This is to ensure the earliest possible appointment of Russian ambassadors to the United States and the United States to Russia. To remove the obstacles that for many years, primarily from the administration of [former US President Joe] Biden, have been primarily built on the direction of our diplomatic missions, seriously complicating their work,

Lavrov was quoted as saying by Russia's state-owned Tass news agency while announcing the agreements reached during the meeting

Europe is left without a choice. Abandoning support for Ukraine would mean surrendering on all fronts, and there is no need to talk about strategic independence, so Europe sees the outcome of the Ukraine crisis from a strategic and life-and-death perspective,

Jiang said

Dmitry Peskovkremlin spokesman

In order to carry out, figuratively speaking, resuscitation measures, diplomats will now begin to work in light of the agreement Lavrov reached yesterday with Rubio,

Peskov was quoted by state media as saying

Vladimir Putinpresident

The constant expulsion of diplomats from Washington and Moscow does not lead to anything good,

Putin said according to RIA Novosti, Russian state-owned media

Sergey Lavrovforeign Minister

He is a completely independent politician,

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted as saying by the state-run TASS news agency on Wednesday

Volodymyr Zelenskyypresident

I believe that the United States helped Putin break out of years of isolation,

Zelensky said of the meeting in Saudi Arabia, marking some of his sharpest criticism yet of Trump's approach to Russia and the Ukraine war

Volodymyr Zelenskyypresident

We are seeing a lot of disinformation and that is coming from Russia,

Zelenskyy said Wednesday

I assume the United States, as discussed yesterday, intends to remove obstacles that are in the path of promising projects. We have begun to move away from the edge of the abyss where Biden's administration led our relationship,

the veteran Russian diplomat said

Amir Garrettmajor

This is, frankly, what Vladimir Putin would have said — that none of this needed to happen, when in fact, it happened because he wanted it to happen,

Ravi Agrawal, the editor in chief of Foreign Policy magazine, told CBS News' Major Garrett after hearing Mr. Trump's remarks

I wonder – if we didn’t accept such ultimatums in our most difficult moment, why does anyone think we would now?”

The leader

We understand the need for security guarantees ... Part of my mission is to sit and listen and say: what are your concerns

Kellogg said in a video posted by Ukraine's Suspilne news outlet

Gennadiy Trukhanovmayor

As a result of a massive enemy strike on a densely populated area of the city, there is no electricity, water, and heating in a large part of the residential quarters,

Gennadiy Trukhanov said on Telegram

At least 160,000 Odesa residents are now without heat and electricity,

he said

We may or may not like Zelensky. We can scold him or we can praise him. We can condemn his actions or applaud them. Because he is OUR President,

he said