KYIV (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he discussed the weekend unrest in Russia in phone calls with the leaders of the United States, Canada and Poland on Sunday, and that the ” weakness” of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin had been “exposed”.
The phone calls came after an extraordinary failed mutiny on Saturday by Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin that raised questions about Putin’s grip on power as Ukraine presses a counteroffensive in its south and east .
“We discussed the course of hostilities and the processes taking place in Russia. The world must put pressure on Russia until international order is restored,” Zelenskiy said after a phone call with US President Joe Biden.
He said he and Biden also discussed expanding defense cooperation with a focus on long-range weapons, coordination ahead of the NATO summit in Vilnius next month and preparations. of a “world summit for peace” that he promoted.
“Yesterday’s events exposed the weakness of Putin’s regime,” the statement said.
In another similar statement, Zelenskiy said he briefed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a phone call on the “threatening situation” at Ukraine’s vast Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Zelenskiy warned earlier this week that Russia was considering an act of “terrorism” involving the release of radiation into the plant, an allegation Russia denies.
“Ukraine’s partners must demonstrate a principled response, especially at the NATO summit in Vilnius,” he said.
The Ukrainian leader made similar comments in a statement announcing a phone call with Polish President Andrzej Duda.
(Reporting by Tom Balmforth and Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Jane Merriman and Lisa Shumaker)