In call with NATO chief, Ukraine's Zelensky says pressure needed on Russia

KYIV, May 22 ------ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had spoken by telephone to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and that they had discussed joint steps and the need to put pressure on Russia to secure "a just peace". "It is important that all decisions are coordinated. Then the sanctions will work. Without pressure on Moscow, a just peace cannot be achieved. Everyone understands this," Zelensky said on the Telegram messaging app.  

For Ukraine and its allies, who spent months trying to win the Trump administration over to their cause in the war started by Russia, the U.S. leader's call with Putin put them back at square one. The U.S. president dropped his earlier insistence on an unconditional 30-day ceasefire that he hoped would kickstart what promise to be long and tortuous peace talks. Trump also signaled that the war he once promised to end in 24 hours was no longer his to fix - a message that leaves Ukraine vulnerable and its allies worried. 

Source: reuters.com