Zelenskyy takes his diplomatic campaign against Russia to Arab summit, G7

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed a summit of Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia on Friday before what a senior official said would be a trip to Japan for a meeting with the leaders of the worlds most powerful democraciesZelenskyy has in recent months made foreign trips to shore up diplomatic support for Ukraines fight against Russias fullscale invasion almost 15 months ago and solicit more military support He earlier this week returned from a threeday trip to Italy the Vatican Germany France and the United KingdomUkraine and Russia are squaring up for a major and potentially decisive phase in the war as Kyiv prepares an expected counteroffensive The conflict has been bogged down in a war of attrition in recent months amid bad weatherZelenskyys office said he was invited to attend the Arab League summit in Jeddah where he met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman before holding other bilateral meetings They discussed Zelenskyys peace plan the security situation in Ukraine and possible investments in the reconstruction of the country a presidential statement said Zelenskyy also invited Prince Mohammed to visit UkraineZelenskyy urged leaders at the summit to resist Moscows influence and consider his peace proposals which include the withdrawal of the Kremlins forces from occupied areas of Ukraine Im more than sure that none of you will agree to surrender a third of your country to the invaders Zelenskyy said in EnglishAnother priority is the protection of the Muslim community of Ukraine Zelenskyy said Crimea was the first to suffer from the Russian occupation and most of those who suffer repression in occupied Crimea are Muslims Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev accompanied Zelenskyy on the visitZelenskyy will later travel to a Group of Seven summit in Japan where leaders of the worlds most powerful democracies aim to step up punishment on Russia for its fullscale invasion of Ukraine according to Oleksiy Danilov the secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council However Danilovs office later posted a statement backtracking on his announcement and saying Zelenskyy would appear at the G7 summit via video link Zelenskyys movements are kept secret for security reasonsMeanwhile Russias forces kept up their longrange bombardment of Ukrainian targets while drones reportedly damaged train lines behind their front line About 130 metres 430 feet of railway track were damaged and trains were halted for hours after an explosion derailed eight cars of a freight train carrying grain in Russiaoccupied Crimea Russian state media reported on FridayAlso read Why Ukraines spring offensive is yet to begin with summer just weeks awayThursdays blast prompted renewed suspicions about possible Ukrainian saboteur activity behind Russian lines Train traffic was also halted in northern Crimea on Thursday night after a drone hit a railway track near the town of Dzhankoi Russias Baza Telegram channel reported Sergei Aksyonov the Kremlinappointed head of Crimea said in a separate post that four Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight in the peninsulas north Aksyonov claimed there was no damage or casualtiesRussia overnight fired cruise missiles drones and artillery at targets across Ukraine killing two civilians officials said Friday The attacks included an air assault on Kyiv for the second straight day and the 10th time in three weeks The Kremlins forces also took aim at central eastern and southern Ukraine and the western Lviv region near the border with PolandRussia launched 22 Iranianmade Shahed drones and six Kalibr cruise missiles during the night the Ukrainian Air Force said It said air defences downed 16 drones and three missiles The Russian shelling killed two civilians and wounded nine others in Ukraines eastern Donetsk region its Gov Pavlo Kyrylenko saidThe missile attacks that have intensified recently aim to disrupt Ukraines plans and preparations for active military operations during the springsummer campaign according to a statement from Ukraines intelligence agency published on TelegramThe targets are Ukraines military control points and barracks supply routes and the places where ammunition equipment fuel are stored it saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever