Ukraine's Zelensky rules out ceasefire with Russia

Rescues clear rubble around a crater after a missile attack. Pic/AP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday ruled out a cease-fire in his country's war with Russia, saying the Kremlin's forces would use the pause to rearm and regroup before overwhelming Kyiv's troops. "A pause on the Ukrainian battlefield will not mean a pause in the war," Zelensky said during a visit to Estonia. "A pause would play into (Russia's) hands," he said. "It might crush us afterward."

Zelensky noted that Moscow is allegedly buying artillery shells and missiles from North Korea and drones from Iran. Zelensky was in the Estonian capital Tallinn as part of a two-day swing through Baltic countries which have been among Ukraine's staunchest supporters in the war. The Ukrainian president is pressing allies to provide his country with more support, after already receiving billions of dollars in military aid from its Western allies. Limited ceasefires have occasionally been proposed since Russia's invasion but have never taken hold.

‘N Korean missiles used in attacks'

The US, Ukraine and six allies accused Russia on Wednesday of using North Korean ballistic missiles and launchers in a series of devastating aerial attacks against Ukraine, in violation of UN sanctions. Their joint statement, issued ahead of a Security Council meeting on Ukraine, cited the use of North Korean weapons during waves of strikes on Dec. 30, Jan. 2 and Jan. 6 and said the violations increase suffering of the Ukrainian people, "support Russia's brutal war of aggression, and undermine the global nonproliferation regime." The eight countries - also including France, the UK, Japan, Malta, South Korea and Slovenia - accused Russia of exploiting its position as a veto-wielding permanent member of the council.

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No of day's Zelensky spent in Balkans

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