Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said a meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin would be “the most effective way forward”, amid stalled diplomatic attempts to end the war as he celebrated Ukraine’s Independence Day.
Ukraine launched drone strikes on Russia, triggering a fire at a nuclear power plant as Ukrainians marked their Independence Day with the conflict now in its fourth year.
After a push by US President Donald Trump to broker a Ukraine-Russia summit, hopes for peace dimmed when Russia on Friday ruled out any immediate Putin-Zelensky meeting.
But Mr Zelensky said the “format of talks between leaders is the most effective way forward”, renewing calls for a bilateral summit with Mr Putin.
Mr Zelensky vowed to “to push Russia to peace” as he spoke at a ceremony attended by US envoy Keith Kellogg – whom he awarded with the Ukrainian Order of Merit – and other Western officials.
‘Ukraine is a fighter’
Speaking at the ceremony to mark the anniversary of Ukraine’s 1991 independence after the break-up of the Soviet Union, Mr Zelensky said: “This is how Ukraine strikes when its calls for peace are ignored.”
“Today, both the US and Europe agree: Ukraine has not yet fully won, but it will certainly not lose. Ukraine has secured its independence. Ukraine is not a victim; it is a fighter.”
He said the presence of foreign troops in Ukraine once the war ends would be “important” as Kyiv seeks to work on potential security guarantees with its allies.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on a visit to Kyiv said it was not “the choice of Russia how the future sovereignty, independence, liberty of Ukraine is guaranteed.”
Canadian President Mark Carney speaking in Kyiv
Mr Zelensky thanked other world leaders including Mr Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping, French President Emmanuel Macron, Britain’s King Charles and Pope Leo for sending messages to mark the occasion.
Norway announced it would contribute seven billion kroner ($700 million) as part of its joint pledge with Germany to provide Ukraine with two complete US Patriot systems that Germany already possesses.
The systems are in Germany and will be delivered to Ukraine “as soon as possible”, the Norwegian government said.
Russia now controls around a fifth of Ukraine, including the Crimean peninsula, which it annexed in 2014.
West trying to ‘block’ Ukraine peace talks – Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused Western countries of trying to “block” peace negotiations to end the Ukraine conflict, after a flurry of diplomatic activity appeared to stall.
Mr Trump has been championing a bilateral meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian presidents – but both sides have blamed each other for not wanting the talks to come through.
“They’re just looking for a pretext to block negotiations,” Mr Lavrov said in an interview with state TV station Rossiya aired this morning on Telegram.
He slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for “obstinately insisting, setting conditions, demanding an immediate meeting at all costs” with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
Mr Lavrov also accused Ukrainian authorities of “attempts to disrupt the process that was laid down by Presidents Putin and Trump, which has yielded very good results”.
“We hope that these attempts will be thwarted,” he added.
Sergei Lavrov criticised Volodymyr Zelensky for ‘demanding an immediate meeting at all costs’ woth Vladimir Putin
On Friday, Mr Lavrov said “no meeting” between Mr Zelensky and Mr Putin was planned.
Earlier this week, Mr Zelensky for his part said Russia was “trying to wriggle out of holding a meeting”.
Mr Zelensky has signalled willingness to meet with Mr Putin, but only after his allies agree on security guarantees for Ukraine to deter future Russian attacks once the fighting stops.
Moscow said there could be no discussion about such guarantees without it, and said any presence of European troops in Ukraine would be “absolutely unacceptable”.
Ukraine attacks spark fires at Russian nuclear plant
Ukraine launched a drone attack on Russia, forcing a sharp fall in the capacity of a reactor at one of Russia’s biggest nuclear power plants and sparking a huge blaze at the major Ust-Luga fuel export terminal, Russian officials have said.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Despite talk of peace by Russia and Ukraine, the deadliest European war since World War II is continuing along the 2,000km front line accompanied by missile and drone attacks deep into both Russia and Ukraine.
Russia’s defence ministry said at least 95 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted across more than a dozen Russian regions today, on what is also the day that Ukraine celebrates its declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
The Kursk nuclear power plant is just 60km from the border with Ukraine. Officials said that air defences shot down a drone that detonated near the plant just after midnight, damaging an auxiliary transformer and forcing a 50% reduction in the operating capacity at reactor No 3.
A drone attack on the Kursk nuclear plant, not far from the border with Ukraine, damaged an auxiliary transformer
Radiation levels were normal and there were no injuries from the fire which the drone sparked, plant authorities said.
Two other reactors are operating without power generation and one is undergoing scheduled repairs.
The United Nations’ nuclear agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency, said it was aware of reports that a transformer at the plant caught fire due to military activity and stressed that every nuclear facility should be protected at all times.
Around 1,000km north, on the Gulf of Finland, at least ten Ukrainian drones were downed over the port of Ust-Luga in Russia’s northern Leningrad region, with debris sparking fire at the Novatek-operated terminal – a huge Baltic Sea fuel export terminal and processing complex, the regional governor said.
Plume of black smoke
Unverified footage on Russian Telegram channels showed a drone flying directly into a fuel terminal, followed by a huge ball of fire rising high into the sky followed by a plume of black smoke billowing into the horizon.
“Firefighters and emergency services are currently working to extinguish the blaze,” Alexander Drozdenko, governor of Russia’s Leningrad region, said.
There were no injuries, he added.
According to Novatek NVTK.MM, the Ust-Luga complex, which opened in 2013, processes gas condensate into light and heavy naphtha, jet fuel, fuel oil and gasoil, and enables the company to ship oil products as well as gas condensate to international markets.
Novatek produces mostly naphtha for Asia, including China, Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia, as well as jet fuel with delivery to Istanbul.
Rosaviatsia, Russia’s civil aviation authority, said flights were halted for hours on end at several Russian airports overnight, including at the Pulkovo airport in the Leningrad region.
Read more:
Ukrainian drones also attacked an industrial enterprise in the southern Russian city of Syzran, the governor of the Samara region said.
A child was injured in the attack, according to the governor, who did not specify exactly what had been attacked.
Earlier this month, the Ukrainian military said it had struck the Syzran oil refinery.
The Rosneft-owned ROSN.MM refinery was forced to suspend production and crude intake after the attack, sources said.
There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.
Kyiv has said its strikes inside Russia are in response to Russia’s continued attacks on Ukraine and are aimed at destroying infrastructure deemed crucial to Moscow’s overall military efforts.
Accreditation: AFP/Reuters