Frustrated by a lack of military support, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused the West of cowardice. Meanwhile, innocents continue to suffer as the conflict with Russia rages on.

From AP News. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the West of cowardice Sunday while another top official said Russia was trying to split the nation in two, like North and South Korea….

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Speaking after U.S. President Joe Biden said in a lacerating speech that Russian President Vladimir Putin could not stay in power — words the White House immediately sought to downplay — Zelenskyy lashed out at the West’s “ping-pong about who and how should hand over jets” and other weapons while Russian missile attacks kill and trap civilians….

Zelenskyy also told independent Russian journalists Sunday that his government would consider declaring neutrality and offering security guarantees to Russia, repeating earlier statements. That would include keeping Ukraine nuclear-free, he said.

He told the reporters that the issue of neutrality – and agreeing to stay out of NATO – should be put to Ukrainian voters in a referendum after Russian troops withdraw. He said a vote could take place within a few months of the troops leaving….

Moscow claims its focus is on wresting the entire eastern Donbas region, which has been partially controlled by Russia-backed separatists since 2014. A high-ranking Russian military official on Friday said that troops were being redirected to the east from other parts of the country….

Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, accused Russia of seeking to split Ukraine in two, making the comparison to North and South Korea….

A Ukrainian delegate in talks with Russia on ending the war, Davyd Arakhamia, said in a Facebook post the countries would meet in Turkey beginning Monday. However, the Russians then announced the talks would start Tuesday. The sides have met previously with no deal reached.

Ukraine’s priorities at the talks will be “sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Zelenskyy told his nation in his nightly address….

Ukraine says that to defeat Russia, the West must provide fighter jets and not just missiles and other military equipment. A proposal to transfer Polish planes to Ukraine via the United States was scrapped amid NATO concerns about being drawn into direct fighting.

In his pointed remarks, Zelenskyy accused Western governments of being “afraid to prevent this tragedy. Afraid to simply make a decision.”

His plea was echoed by a priest in the western city of Lviv, which was struck by rockets a day earlier. The aerial assault illustrated that Moscow, despite assertions that it intends to shift the war eastward, is willing to strike anywhere in Ukraine.

“When diplomacy doesn’t work, we need military support,” said the Rev. Yuri Vaskiv, who said fearful parishioners were staying away from his Greek Catholic church.

On the road to Kyiv, residents of a village combed through the wreckage of Russia’s ongoing attacks. Locals in Byshiv, about 22 miles (35 kilometers) from Kyiv. walked through buildings torn open and destroyed by shelling to salvage what they could, including books, shelving and framed pictures.

Standing in what used to be a kindergarten classroom, teacher Svetlana Grybovska said too many children have fallen victim.

“It’s not right” Grybovska told British broadcaster Sky News. “Children are not guilty of anything.”

Russia confirmed it used air-launched cruise missiles to hit a fuel depot and a defense plant in Lyiv, near the Polish border. Another strike with sea-launched missiles destroyed a depot in Plesetske just west of Kyiv, where Ukraine stored air defense missiles, said Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry.

Russia’s back-to-back airstrikes shook the city that has become a haven for an estimated 200,000 people who have fled bombarded towns and cities. Lviv, which has largely been spared bombardment, also has been a waystation for most of the 3.8 million refugees who have left Ukraine since Russia invaded on Feb. 24….

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(Excerpt from AP News. Photo Credit: Getty Images)