PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The foreign minister of Ukraine says his country wants to have a peace summit to end their current war, but he doesn’t anticipate Russia taking part, a statement that makes it hard to foresee the devastating invasion ending soon.
That reality hits Ukrainians there, and here in Philadelphia, hard.
“I stepped out the other morning into the cold and I felt the sting of the cold on my face. And for that five minutes until I started up my car and got in and got warm once again, I broke down in tears,” said Eugene Luciw, president of the Philadelphia Branch of the Ukrainian Congress Committee.
“Because there are people that have zero warmth, zero life. Food shortages. And in the occupied territories, it's even more pronounced.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Russia has to face a war crimes tribunal before talks can start between the two countries.
“There's not really an effort here to negotiate with Russia, until it makes these concessions,” said Luciw.
He thinks Kuleba will focus on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s plan, which includes restoring Ukraine, withdrawing Russian troops, and releasing prisoners.
“What I think Kuleba wants to do is to draw attention to the situation, map out how it's all supposed to work based upon a Ukrainian victory,” he said.
Related
“If we see that the UN powers take that and advance it themselves, man, that's going to be a tremendous boom for Ukraine, and frankly for the world.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed a few days ago that his country is ready for talks to end the war in Ukraine, but suggested that the Ukrainians are the ones refusing to take that step. Despite Putin's comments, Moscow's forces have kept attacking Ukraine — a sign that peace isn't imminent.
Feb. 24 will mark a year since Russia invaded Ukraine.
The United Nations estimated in early December that more than 6,500 civilians have been killed, with another 10,000 wounded. The UN Refugee Agency said that as of Dec. 20, nearly 16.6 million people have crossed the border out of Ukraine.
“What we can't forget is despite Christmas, and despite this spirit of restoration and rebirth, and Ukraine having this advantage,” Luciw said, “we still lament that Ukraine is being attacked, that the power grids are being destroyed.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.