He said making concessions would backfire on Ukraine because Russia would hit back harder after any break in fighting.
In a conversation with Draghi on Saturday, Zelenskiy said he stressed the importance of more sanctions on Russia and unblocking Ukrainian ports.Full control of Mariupol gives Russia command of an overland route linking the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow seized in 2014, with mainland Russia and areas of eastern Ukraine held by pro-Russia separatists.A bus carrying service members of the Ukrainian armed forces, who surrendered at the besieged Azovstal steel mill, drives away under escort of the pro-Russian military in the course of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, in Mariupol, Ukraine May 20, 2022.Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Gaidai said Russia was trying to destroy the city of Sievierodonetsk, with fighting on the outskirts from morning throughout the night.Russian troops destroyed a bridge on the Siverskiy Donets River between Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk, Gaidai said on the Telegram messaging app.Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksandr Shtupun said Russian activity was focused in the east, with troops trying to break through defenses in Donetsk to reach the Luhansk region border.The Russian military said it had destroyed a major consignment of Western arms in Ukraine's Zhytomyr region, west of Kyiv, using sea-launched Kalibr cruise missiles