Zelenskiy calls on world leaders to attend Ukraine peace summit after deadly Kharkiv strike | Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy issued a desperate video appeal calling on world leaders to attend a peace summit next month in Switzerland after a deadly Russian attack on a DIY hypermarket in Kharkiv on Saturday that killed at least 16 people and injured dozens more.

Zelenskiy notably called on US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to attend the summit, which is scheduled to begin on June 15. Please show leadership to advance peace, real peace and not just a pause between strikes, Zelenskiy said in English.

Biden has not yet confirmed his presence and it is unclear whether China will participate in ongoing negotiations over Beijing's participation, Zelenskiy aide Mykhailo Podolyak said in an interview last week.

Saturday's attack came at the end of a week in which Russian air and missile strikes terrorized Ukraine's second city, with strikes on a printing house, numerous residential areas and a central park, among other targets. In most cases, there were no obvious military targets nearby.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said about 120 people were in the hardware store on Saturday afternoon. The attack targeted the shopping center, where many people were present. This is clearly terrorism, he said.

Kharkiv map

Prosecutors said at least 16 people were dead, 10 of whom had not yet been identified, and 43 injured. More than ten people are still missing after the strike. Another missile strike early in the evening hit a residential building in the center of the city, injuring 18 people, according to the regional governor.

In recent weeks, Russia has worked to make life miserable in Kharkiv, a city 32 kilometers from the border with Ukraine and which before the war had more than a million inhabitants. Even though life in the city continues, deadly strikes have become a daily reality.

Due to the city's proximity to the border, Russian warplanes can launch glide bombs toward the city center from Russia. Ukrainian officials say improved air defense systems and F-16 fighter jets are critical to the city's defense. The Kharkiv region has also been the center of a new Russian offensive in the past two weeks, centered on the town of Vovchansk, which has sent thousands of residents fleeing their homes.

Russia has claimed its attacks on the Kharkiv region were aimed at creating a buffer zone to prevent Ukrainian forces from launching strikes against Russian border regions.

Saturday's strike targeted a popular suburban shopping complex. Andriy Kudinov, its director, told local media that the store was filled with shoppers buying items for their summer cottages.

Witnesses described panicked scenes at the supermarket. I was at my workplace. I heard the first shot and my colleague and I fell to the ground. There was the second impact and we were covered in debris. Then we started crawling towards higher ground, Dmytro Syrotenko, 26, told Reuters, speaking with a large cut on his face.

The strike sparked a fire that caused large clouds of black smoke to rise above the mall. Rescue work is dangerous in these conditions, and repeated strikes targeting first responders are a common feature of recent Russian attacks.

Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said over the weekend that Russia had launched nearly 10,000 guided aerial bombs against Ukraine since the start of the year. Our country needs more modern air defense and aviation systems. We talk about it with our allies every day and at every opportunity, he wrote on Facebook.

Zelenskiy said Sunday that the Kharkiv attack was further proof that Russia was not interested in peace. We all know who we are dealing with. Russia is run by men who want to make it a norm by burning lives, destroying cities and towns, dividing people and erasing national borders through war. No nation alone can stop such a war, he said.

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Zelenskiy said more than 80 countries had already confirmed their participation in the Swiss summit. Russia is not invited and has called the event pointless. The goal appears not to be to design a workable peace formula, but to bring together a broad coalition of countries to call on Moscow to end the war, particularly targeting many countries in the South that have remained neutral so far.

Podolyak, a key aide to Zelenskiy, said the Ukrainian president spent time calling many leaders of the Global South in an effort to persuade them to attend the summit, with a particular focus on Africa, Latin America and the Pacific region.

The Russians are doing everything to discredit the idea and offer incentives to those who don't participate, Podolyak said, referring to the diplomatic battle over the summit.

China, which has tacitly supported Russia in the conflict, is unlikely to be present, although Ukrainian diplomats are working to persuade Beijing to participate in some way. China has presented its own peace plan, which Ukrainian officials say is unworkable.

The Chinese formula is to either force Ukraine's capitulation or freeze the conflict on Russian terms, Podolyak said. China is the key country [for us]Because as soon as Russia's position changes from neutral and disinterested to neutral but fair, the pressure on Russia will begin to increase, he added.

In a report published Friday, Reuters cited unidentified sources in Moscow as saying that Vladimir Putin was seeking a ceasefire deal. Putin can fight as long as it takes, but Putin is also ready for a ceasefire to freeze the war, one of the sources said.

Many Ukrainian and Western officials have reacted with skepticism to such claims, emphasizing that without real security guarantees for Ukraine, any attempt to freeze the conflict would be meaningless.