Fresh attacks on Kyiv ahead of Zelensky-Trump meeting

The Ukrainian capital Kyiv came under a massive Russian attack ‍early this morning, with explosions sounding in the city, air defences in operation and the Ukrainian military saying missiles were being deployed. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is due to hold talks US President Donald Trump tomorrow The Russian action took place two days before a meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says ⁠he is due to hold in the United ⁠States with President Donald Trump to work out details of an ⁠accord ‍for ⁠settling the nearly four-year-old war pitting Russia against ‍Ukraine. Reuters eyewitnesses said air defences ⁠were in action in the city and unofficial Telegram channels reported explosions. A military Telegram channel said cruise ‍and ballistic missiles were being deployed in the city. Mr Zelensky wants to discuss territorial issues, the main stumbling block in talks to end the war, with Mr Trump in ⁠Florida tomorrow, as a 20-point peace framework and a security guarantee deal near completion. Announcing the meeting, Mr Zelensky said "a lot can be decided before the New Year," as Washington drives efforts to end Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine, Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two. A security guarantee agreement between Ukraine and the US is "almost ready" and the 20-point plan draft was 90% complete, Mr Zelensky told reporters in a WhatsApp chat. "So we'll see what he's got." Mr Zelensky told Axios that the US offered a 15-year deal on security guarantees that could be renewed, and Kyiv wanted a longer term. Wary of failed guarantees from allies in the past, Ukraine is seeking robust and legally binding deals to prevent further Russian aggression. Mr Zelensky said his meeting with Mr Trump aimed to "refine things" in the drafts and to discuss potential deals on Ukraine's economy. He added that he was not ready to say if any deal would be signed during his visit, but Ukraine was open to it. Mr Trump said he believed the meeting was going to go well, while he expected to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin "soon, as much as I want". Sensitive land issues Territorial issues remain a hurdle to negotiations moving forward. "As for the sensitive issues: We will discuss both Donbas and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. We will certainly discuss other issues as well," Mr Zelensky said as he unveiled the agenda for the meeting. Moscow demands that Ukraine withdraw from the parts of the eastern Donetsk region that Russian troops have failed to occupy during almost four years of war, as it seeks full control of the Donbas, comprising the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Kyiv wants the fighting to be halted at ⁠the current lines. The US, seeking a compromise, proposed a free economic zone if Ukraine leaves parts of the Donetsk region. The proposal gave no details on how the zone would function. Mr Zelensky was cited by Axios as saying that if he is notable to push the US ⁠to back Ukraine's "strong" position on the land issue, he...

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