Kremlin: Zelenskyy’s US visit clarifies Ukraine wants war

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky paid a visit to Washington on Wednesday (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

Russian officials on Thursday derided Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s wartime visit to the United States, claiming in several statements that his whirlwind trip to cement support in Washington proved he and his American allies were not “striving for peace” in Ukraine.

Mr Zelenskyy received thunderous applause from members of Congress during a hastily organised trip on Wednesday, his first known trip outside Ukraine since Russian troops invaded the country on February 24.