BY OSABUOHIEN VIVIAN ROSE
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday there was no pressure on Russia to move forward towards a deal that would provide lasting peace in Ukraine.
“I do not see pressure on Russia now and new sanctions packages against the aggression of the Russian Federation,” Zelenskyy said, speaking in Pretoria alongside South African president Cyril Ramaphosa.
Zelenskyy said on a visit to South Africa, which he said he will cut short to return home because of an attack, which killed at least nine people and Injuring over 70, the deadliest assault on the city since last July.
The strikes took place just as peace efforts are underway. Zelenskyy said preliminary information indicated more than 250 drones and ballistic missiles were involved in the attack.
Asked what compromises Ukraine was willing to make in the course of peace negotiations with Russia, Zelenskyy said a willingness to sit down “with the terrorists that did it all on our land, exclusively on our land, that is a great compromise.”
Zelenskyy’s visit showed a historic breakthrough in previously strained relationship between South Africa and Ukraine, which was caused by Pretoria’s friendly relations with Russian president Vladimir Putin.
However, Ukraine has made efforts in the past few months to increase its diplomatic presence and ties in the nation.
