Zelenskyy accuses US of unwillingness to help as Russian strikes kill 78 in two days

Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the United States of being unwilling to help Ukraine defend itself after deadly Russian strikes across the country. His remarks came as Kyiv pressed Washington for wider Starlink access, tougher sanctions and more air-defence support.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump. (Photo: Reuters)Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the United States of being unwilling to help Kyiv defend itself against Russia on Thursday, after a Russian attack on the eastern city of Kramatorsk pushed the reported death toll from strikes across Ukraine over two days to 78.Zelenskyy criticised Washington for pursuing potential economic ties with Moscow while claiming to work towards ending the war, which has lasted more than four years. He urged the US to expand Ukraine’s access to the Starlink satellite network to help its forces target Russian ballistic-missile launchers and strengthen air defences.Speaking to reporters in the northern Ukrainian town of Pryluky, Zelenskyy said Russian attacks had killed 78 people and wounded 215 across the country over the previous two days.The latest attacks came a day after a massive Russian drone and missile assault killed dozens of people, including 22 in a residential building in Pryluky, about 130 km (80 miles) east of Kyiv. 'THAT'S CALLED UNWILLINGNESS'Zelenskyy called on Washington to provide Ukraine with greater access to Starlink, saying the service had been made available in response to the conflict involving Iran."Open Starlink for Ukraine. You did open it when you were responding to Iran ... I’ve said quite openly — give it to us, help us defend our skies and dominate there. And then Putin will sit down at the negotiating table," he said in an emotional statement. His remarks came after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the war was at a stalemate and Washington would continue working towards a settlement.Questioning that assessment, Zelenskyy said: "So where's the truth here, where's the honesty? Where's the stalemate? ... That's called unwillingness."He also criticised the US for exploring economic cooperation with Russia while describing the diplomatic process as stalled."One cannot, on the one hand, negotiate with the Russians about future economic projects, whilst on the other hand say that we find ourselves in some sort of ... diplomatic stalemate," he added.Reuters reported on Thursday that senior Russian and US officials, including US Special Envoy Jared Kushner, had held talks about bringing an American investor into the Nord Stream pipelines, which supplied Russian gas to Germany before Moscow invaded Ukraine.Zelenskyy said Ukrainian negotiators would travel to the US on Friday and Saturday for talks. He urged US President Donald Trump to increase sanctions pressure on Russia and said he expected Ukraine’s European partners to join the discussions. Air defence would also be on the agenda, he added, given the near-constant Russian attacks.KRAMATORSK ATTACK KILLS DOZENSLocal authorities said the death toll in Kramatorsk reached 35 after a drone attack killed two people later on Thursday, following an earlier Russian bomb strike that tore through two buses. Twenty people were wounded in the earlier strike, described as one of Russia’s biggest single attacks of the year.A Russian guided aerial bomb also killed two people in a village in southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, while one person died in the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk, local authorities said.Regional governor Vadym Filashkin accused Russian forces of deliberately targeting civilians."The Russians are deliberately targeting civilians. For them, a bus full of passengers is an attractive target precisely because a single strike can kill as many people as possible," he said on Telegram.Images released by officials showed bodies lying on a debris-strewn street beside the charred remains of a bus. Zelensky said some victims had yet to be identified and warned that the attack would not go unanswered.KYIV HIT AS RUSSIA INTENSIFIES AIR CAMPAIGNThe attacks also struck the Ukrainian capital. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said four people were killed and 19 wounded in morning attacks on the city. Water and electricity supplies were disrupted, with officials warning that restoring them would take time.Russia has intensified drone attacks on Kyiv in recent weeks, targeting warehouses and data centres and renewing its campaign against Ukraine’s power grid ahead of winter.Russian technology and artificial intelligence company Yandex said it was too early to determine whether equipment at a data centre hit by a Ukrainian drone attack could be restored.Zelenskyy did not specifically mention the strike on Yandex, but said Ukraine was "mirroring" Russian attacks on data centres.Ukraine has sought to regain the initiative on the battlefield as Russian territorial gains have slowed this year. However, Moscow’s continued aerial campaign has left Ukrainian cities facing persistent attacks.- EndsWith inputs from Reuters