Zelensky in the US. Trump says Kyiv can end the war

Russian intelligence agencies (FSB) announced that they had foiled an alleged Ukrainian attack on the Crimean bridge, TASS and RIA Novosti reported on Monday.

According to the statement, a car was identified as containing a homemade explosive device that was defused, and Russian authorities arrested the alleged perpetrators. "The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation foiled another attempt by Ukrainian special services to carry out a terrorist attack on the Crimean Bridge using a car loaded with explosives," the FSB statement read.

An explosion at a Russian factory in the Ryazan region has killed at least 20 people and injured 134, RIA Novosti reported today.

According to data provided by authorities, 31 people are hospitalized in hospitals in Ryazan and Moscow. The fire broke out on Friday at the factory in the village of Lesnoy, and a state of emergency was declared in the Shilovsky district.

After meeting with Putin, Trump meets today with Zelensky, who is bringing European heavyweights to Washington. Ukraine is still waiting for peace. Historian Bruno Cardoso Reis is the guest.

Is peace possible in Ukraine, but at what cost?

In the run-up to his meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders in Washington on Monday, Donald Trump stressed, in a post on his Truth Social network, that the President of Ukraine has the power to end the war with Russia.

"President Zelenskyy can end the war with Russia almost immediately if he wants, or he can keep fighting. Remember how it all started. There's no going back: Obama ceded Crimea (12 years ago, without a single shot being fired!) and Ukraine didn't join NATO. Some things never change!" the US President wrote.

On a night in which he made several online posts, Trump also expressed his pleasure at receiving so many European leaders in Washington at the same time.

Russian attacks on Ukrainian territory in the last 24 hours resulted in the deaths of eight civilians and injuries to another 35 people, the Kyiv Independent newspaper revealed today, supported by data from local authorities.

In the Kharkiv region, a Russian attack killed at least four civilians and injured 18, according to Governor Oleh Syniehubov, also damaging a dozen buildings and several vehicles. In the Zaporizhia area, a child died and six others were injured, following more than 500 attacks on 14 cities, Governor Ivan Fedorov said. Vadym Filashkin, governor of the Donetsk region, also reported that three people were killed and seven others were injured after Russian attacks.

The Russian attacks come after Friday's meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump in Alaska, which resulted in no commitment to a ceasefire or suspension of hostilities in Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelensky is already in Washington for meetings with the President of the United States and several European leaders about Ukraine's future, Ukrinform reported this Monday. "I have already arrived in Washington. I will meet with President Trump. We will also speak with European leaders. I thank the US President for the invitation," the Ukrainian president wrote in a Telegram post.

"We all want to end this war quickly and reliably. And peace must be lasting. Not like it was years ago, when Ukraine was forced to cede Crimea and part of our east—part of Donbass—and Putin simply used that as a springboard for a new attack. Or when Ukraine received so-called 'security guarantees' in 1994, but that didn't work. It's clear that Crimea wasn't worth ceding back then, just as after 2022, Ukrainians haven't ceded Kyiv, Odessa, and Kharkiv," he added, reiterating his gratitude for the US's support.

This will be the first meeting between Zelensky and Trump since Friday's meeting between the US President and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, which, despite high expectations, did not result in an agreement or ceasefire.

Good morning.

We now open this liveblog article dedicated to monitoring the war in Ukraine. You can revisit the latest information published by Observador on this topic at this link .

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