Zelensky Close To Seal Security Guarantees For Ukraine? President Says 'Framework Out On Paper Next Week'

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday he had discussed security guarantees for Ukraine with Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan and they would be set out on paper next week.

"We discussed our diplomatic efforts to stop the killings, to end this unprovoked Russian aggression, and to guarantee real security for our people," Zelensky wrote on X after talks with von der Leyen.

Zelensky was quoted by Kyiv Independent as saying,“National security advisors are now working on every specific component, and the entire framework will be set out on paper next week.”

The August 28 call came after Russia launched a large-scale aerial strike on Ukrainian cities overnight, attacking Kyiv with missiles and targeting regions far from the front lines.

Russia launches second-biggest strikes

Russia reportedly launched its second-largest attack in Ukraine on Thursday since the full-scale invasion in February 2022. President Vladimir Putin's country struck Ukraine with deadly missiles and drone strikes early on Thursday in a sweeping attack.

This came a day after Russia launches massive 'rare' attack on Ukraine's Kyiv as peace efforts struggle

US special envoy on Ukraine said the Russian strikes undermined President Donald Trump's peace efforts in Ukraine war.

According to Reuters, at least 23 people were killed in the capital, Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's military administration, said on Telegram. As of 11 pm (2000 GMT) rescue efforts were still underway.

Trump 'not happy'

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said US President Donald Trump "was not happy about this news, but he was also not surprised," given that the two countries had been at war for a long time.

Leavitt told a regular briefing that Trump would have more to say about the situation later.

Leavitt said the Russian attacks had been deadly and that Ukrainian attacks had done significant damage in August to Russian oil refineries.

"Perhaps both sides of this war are not ready to end it themselves," she said. "The president wants it to end but the leaders of these two countries need it to end and want it to end," she added.

Meanwhile, US special envoy Keith Kellogg commented on X: "The targets? Not soldiers and weapons but residential areas in Kyiv - blasting civilian trains, the EU & British mission council offices, and innocent civilians."

Zelensky reacts

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said the strike, the second-largest attack since Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022, was Moscow's answer to diplomatic efforts to end its war.

He said the strikes also damaged a Turkish enterprise and the Azerbaijan embassy.

The strikes took place less than two weeks after Trump hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit in Alaska, a meeting the US president hoped would advance his peace efforts.

"Russia chooses ballistics instead of the negotiating table," Zelensky said on X, calling for new sanctions on Russia. "It chooses to continue killing instead of ending the war."

EU and British offices damaged

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels that two missiles had struck near the EU office within 20 seconds of each other.

EU countries would soon come up with a 19th package of sanctions against Russia and were advancing work on how to use frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine, she added.

Besides, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the assault, which he said had damaged the British Council building. "Putin is killing children and civilians and sabotaging hopes of peace," he wrote on X.

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