‘Peace Сan Сome in Silence’ – Zelensky Accuses Russia of More Terrorism, But Doesn’t Rule Out Peace Talks (2025)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday said a deadly Russian drone strike in the Dnipro region was a “deliberate war crime,” calling for an immediate ceasefire and renewed global attention to the use of drone warfare against civilians.

According to Zelensky, a Russian first-person-view (FPV) drone hit a civilian bus on Wednesday morning, April 23, in the city of Marhanets, in Dnipropetrovsk Region. The bus was transporting workers from a local mining and processing plant.

The attack killed nine people and injured more than 40 others – most of them women – with some sustaining severe injuries.

“It was an egregiously brutal attack – and an absolutely deliberate war crime,” Zelensky wrote on social media. “An ordinary bus. Clearly a civilian object, a civilian target.”

The attack took place just hours before a highly anticipated meeting in London, which was abruptly cancelled despite the Ukrainian delegation having already arrived.

The high-level meeting was set to include foreign ministers from Ukraine, the UK, Germany, France, as well as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The officials were reportedly set to discuss a US-backed peace proposal.

Even though it hasn’t been officially disclosed, the US proposal, according to multiplereports, included US recognition ofCrimeaas Russian territory, a Ukrainian commitment to remain outside theNATO defensive alliance – something Ukraine has seen as an avenue for preventing Russia from invading its territory again – and the creation of a demilitarized zone around theZaporizhzhianuclear power plant under American oversight. It would also reportedly have established a ceasefire along the war’s current front lines.

The first one to pull out of the meeting was Rubio, purportedly dueto Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his European partners’ full rejection of a central element in the proposed US ceasefire plan – recognition of Ukraine’s Crimea as Russian territory.

“Ukraine does not recognize the occupation of Crimea. It is our territory, the territory of the Ukrainian people – there is nothing to discuss,” Zelensky said at the briefing.

Following Rubio’s withdrawal, the foreign ministers of France and Germanyalso declined to attend.

In place of the larger summit, bilateral talks between Ukrainian and UK officials are being held in London, according to Ukraine’sMinistry of Foreign Affairs.

In his social media message, Zelensky said Ukraine has already demonstrated its willingness to reduce hostilities – including a temporary pause in air raids during Easter – and has called for an extended 30-day cessation of strikes, especially against civilian targets.

“Preserving lives must be a shared top priority for all partners,” he said.

Zelensky added that Ukrainian officials continue to pursue diplomatic efforts, with meetings held in Paris and ongoing talks in London.

He said that Kyiv “does not rule out any format that can lead to a ceasefire and, ultimately, real peace.”

“Stopping the killing is task number one,” Zelensky said. “Peace can come in silence.”

Ukrainian Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko, part of the Ukrainian delegation who’d come to London to negotiate with the Americans, said that while Ukraine is ready for peace talks with Russia, it it not ready to surrender.

As Ukraine’s delegation meets with partners in London today, we reaffirm a principled position: Ukraine is ready to negotiate—but not to surrender.

There will be no agreement that hands Russia the stronger foundations it needs to regroup and return with greater violence. A full…

— Yulia Svyrydenko (@Svyrydenko_Y) April 23, 2025