Zelenskiy says Putin wants to weaken Ukrainian resistance with air strikes

Russian ​leader Vladimir ​Putin is trying to ‌weaken Ukrainian ​resistance with an escalation in air strikes against ‌the capital Kyiv and other cities, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday. "They strike ‌bridges — do they really think we ‌will not respond? I am simply astonished by this animalistic desire to escalate the situation every ⁠day," ​Zelenskiy told ⁠a news conference, alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

"Putin ⁠wants to weaken Ukraine's resilience as much ​as possible," Zelenskiy added, noting Russia was trying ⁠to get residents to leave Ukraine's major cities. U.S. ⁠peace ​envoys are trying to organize a trilateral, technical-level meeting by the ⁠end of October, Zelenskiy added, saying that Ukraine was ⁠open ⁠to gathering in the UAE or other countries.