Ukraine urges Brazil's Lula to visit Kyiv to understand essence of Russian aggression

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelesnkyy's closest aide Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) spokesperson Oleh Nikolenko, on Monday, responded to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's efforts for brokering peace in the ongoing Russian hostilities. Nikolenko asked the Brazilian leader to visit Ukraine and take stock of the war situation first hand on the ground following his controversial analysis and attempts of mediation in the war.

Zelenskyy's aide noted that the raging conflict was started by the "aggressor" Russia and that Lula must make an in-person visit to the war torn country to fully understand the consequences of Russia's actions on global security, Ukrainska Pravda reported. The Brazilian President earlier yesterday stirred controversy as he asserted that the ongoing war in Ukraine was caused by "decisions made by the two countries'', referring to Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's President Zelenskyy, both of whom he noted do not want to end the conflict.

US needs to stop encouraging war: Lula

Lula derided the United States and its Western allies for flaring the war by pumping arms into Zelenskyy's regime. He also remarked that Russia's President Vladimir Putin was "too friendly." Brazilian leader made these remarks during the visit of Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s visit to a Latin American country. The Brazilian head of the state made comments following his return from China, where he discussed Chinese President Xi Jinping's 12-point peace proposal that was welcomed by Russian President Putin.  

"The United States needs to stop encouraging war [in Ukraine] and start talking about peace," Lula said at a state presser.

Nikolenko, spokesperson for Ukraine's MFA, noted that the Ukraine "is eagerly following the efforts of the Brazilian President to find a solution to end the war." Spokesperson of the Ukraine MFA further noted that Kyiv is the victim in the conflict and Moscow an aggressor. And that Lula's remarks do not reflect the "actual state of affairs." "More than anything else, we are committed to ending Russian aggression based on the peace formula proposed by President Zelenskyy," Nikolenko stressed. The latter also clarified that Kyiv "does not need to be convinced of anything" as the war was dawned on its soil by the invading forces of Russian Federation. The United States National Security advisor, John Kirby, blasted Lula's pro-Russian stance and mediation efforts, saying that the Brazilian President is "parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda without looking at the facts."