Russian drones, missiles pound Ukraine before Zelenskiy-Trump meeting
Explosions sounded in Kyiv as Ukraine's air defence units went into action, and the military said on the Telegram messaging app that missiles were being deployed.
Russia attacked Kyiv and other regions of Ukraine with missiles and drones today (27 December), ahead of what President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said would be a key meeting with US President Donald Trump to work out a deal to end nearly four years of war.
Before the attacks, Zelenskiy said his talks in Florida tomorrow (28 December) would focus on the territory to be controlled by each side after a halt to the fighting that began in February 2022 with President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Russia's smaller neighbour, Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two.
Explosions sounded in Kyiv as Ukraine's air defence units went into action, and the military said on the Telegram messaging app that missiles were being deployed. The air force said Russian drones were targeting the capital and regions in the northeast and south.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
The attack was continuing at 8 am (0600 GMT), and an air raid alert remained in effect in the capital, Reuters eyewitnesses said. At least eight people were wounded, Kyiv authorities said.
Controlling Territory is a diplomatic stumbling block
Russia's strikes prompted the temporary closure of Rzeszow and Lublin airports in southeastern Poland, to the west of Ukraine, after the Polish armed forces scrambled fighter jets, the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency posted on X.
Russia made no immediate comment on the attacks.
On Thursday night (25 December), Russia struck Ukraine's energy infrastructure and stepped-up attacks on the southern region of Odesa, the site of Ukraine's main seaports, Ukrainian authorities said.
Amid the continued fierce fighting, territory remains the main diplomatic stumbling block. A 20-point draft in the US-driven campaign to clinch a peace plan is 90% complete, Zelenskiy told journalists in Kyiv.
He said a security guarantee agreement between Ukraine and the US was almost ready - a key element after guarantees in earlier post-Soviet years proved meaningless.
"A lot can be decided before the New Year," Zelenskiy posted on social media.
Trump said the United States was the driving force behind the process.
"He doesn't have anything until I approve it," Trump told Politico. "So, we'll see what he's got."
Before their meeting, Trump and Zelenskiy will have a call on Saturday, joined by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other European leaders, a commission spokesperson said.
Zelenskiy told Axios the US had offered a 15-year deal on security guarantees, subject to renewal, but Kyiv wanted a longer agreement with legally binding provisions to guard against further Russian aggression.
Trump said he believed Sunday's meeting would go well. He also said he expected to speak with Putin "soon, as much as I want."
Nuclear Plant, free economic zone also at issue
In addition to territory, a critical point is control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, Europe's largest, seized by Russia in the opening weeks of the war.
Moscow demands that Ukraine withdraw from the areas of the eastern region of Donetsk that Russian troops have failed to occupy in their drive to secure all of the Donbas, which also includes the Luhansk region.
