Ukraine lawmaker: 'We do not quite believe that the diplomatic solution is possible'

Ukrainian Member of Parliament Kira Rudik said Friday that leaders in her country do not see an immediate diplomatic path to peace hours ahead of the U.S.-Russia summit in Alaska.

“We do not quite believe that the diplomatic solution is possible here. And we have been saying this since the day one,” Rudik said during an appearance on CNN’s “News Central.”

She said security guarantees are Ukraine’s main concern after being invaded by Russia in 2014 and 2022. 

“Until you know, what is the way to make sure that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin will keep his part of the bargain, you cannot get to the table with him,” Rudik said.

“There has not been a single fact up until right now that would confirm that he wants to end the war, that he is ready to end the war. He continues attacking our cities. There is still push on the frontline, and the air raid siren in Kyiv went off just a couple of hours ago,” she added.

Ukraine also successfully launched a Thursday drone strike on portions of southern Russia amid slated peace talks with Trump.

Rudik said Ukraine remains a frontline barrier to Putin’s attempt to occupy land across Europe.

“The truth is, right now, Ukraine is providing security guarantees to Europe because we are basically standing in between Europe and Russia. And Russia didn‘t give up their ideas of restoring Soviet Union, as we have clearly seen today and heard from dictator Putin many times beforehand,” Rudik told CNN, adding that “without the security guarantees, none of the talks will make any sense.” 

“Without the idea of how Europe and the United States can be standing against Russia for European security, again, these — all the ideas about peace, all the ideas about President Trump getting the Nobel Prize for it, they will be just talks and will not lead to any serious conclusions,” she continued.