JAKARTA, May 29 : Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told an Indonesian audience on Friday that he would accept the country’s invitation to the Group of 20 Summit in Bali later this year and that he remained hopeful that the event would be free of “occupiers”.

Ukraine has for the past three months resisted a full-scale military invasion by neighboring Russia, which now appears to be redirecting its forces to the east and south of the country after failing to take the capital Kyiv.

Despite enjoying widespread support from around the world, Ukraine has expressed frustration with its Western allies, accusing them of dragging their feet on arms deliveries used to combat what Zelensky has called a Russian “genocide”.

Earlier this month, Indonesia invited both Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin to join the G20 Summit in Bali in November, with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo urging an end to all hostilities to avoid deepening a global economic crisis.

Speaking directly to the Indonesian public on Friday for the first time since receiving the invitation, Zelensky said Ukraine had accepted the invitation “with honor and delight” although he hoped Russia would not attend.

“I am very grateful to your leader, the President of Indonesia, for his invitation to the G20 Summit this autumn,” he said during a live virtual event hosted by the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI).

“I believe that the summit will have just friendly states and partner states and won’t have any occupiers or aggressors.” Putin has, so far, declined to meet with Zelensky, even as the Ukrainian leader says it is “the only way” to end the war.

Talks on a temporary ceasefire have struggled to gain traction, and no significant progress has been made on a broader peace deal.

Hopes for G20

Indonesia had faced pressure by Western nations to punish Putin’s Russia by kicking out the member country from the G20. Jakarta instead invited both Russia and Ukraine, the latter of which is not a member of the group.

As the host of this year’s G20 Summit, Indonesia has the authority to invite leaders from non-member states as observers, although they do not participate in formal meetings.

It remains to be seen whether the Ukrainian leader will be able to make the trip to Indonesia. “I cannot leave Ukraine. I cannot go anywhere in person, because I’m staying with my people.

They need my support, and I need their support. I will join you if there is no war. If there is still a war, that can be done online if your leadership can accept this option,” Zelensky said.

The Ukrainian leader remained hopeful that the summit would be able to address the atrocities and repression committed by Russia “on such a scale”.

“The world’s biggest economies are facing big challenges and conflicts they have to resolve [...]. By autumn, we may face a real crisis like the one we had with the energy crisis in Europe recently. So I do hope that the G20 will be able [...] to find a solution to the war,” he said.

The crisis in Ukraine has exacerbated global supply chain issues in a variety of sectors, from agricultural products to cars and electronics.

Fighting continues

In his daily televised address prior to the FPCI event, Zelensky condemned Moscow’s assault on the Donbas - where it has redirected its forces after failing to capture Kyiv - saying its bombardment could leave the entire region "uninhabited".

Pro-Moscow separatist groups have controlled parts of Donbas since 2014, but Russia now appears set on taking the whole region.

Invading forces are closing in on several cities, including the strategically located Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, which stand on a crucial route to Ukraine's eastern administrative center in Kramatorsk, AFP reported.

Three people died recently in attacks on those two cities, Kyiv’s Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Malyar told journalists, saying that fighting in the east had reached “its maximum intensity” since Russia invaded on Feb. 24.

"The situation remains difficult because the Russian army has thrown all its forces at taking the Lugansk region," regional governor Sergiy Gaiday said in a video on Telegram.

In Kramatorsk, children roamed the rubble left by Russian attacks as the sound of artillery fire boomed.

To the northwest, in Ukraine’s second city of Kharkiv, shelling killed another nine people and wounded 19, officials said.

And in the south, hints at what awaits those cities should they fall to Russian forces were emerging in Mariupol, which was taken over by invading forces this month after a devastating siege that reduced the city to rubble.

 - ANN