Zelensky presses western allies for clear post-war security guarantees

Mr Zelensky’s comments in an interview aired late Thursday came after two days of discussions among allies concluded in Brussels that focused on post-war security and reconstruction, and days before planned three-way talks next week in Abu Dhabi between Ukraine, Russia and the United States.

These talks will be the first trilateral peace discussions since February.

While talks on the contours of peace continue, the grim reality of war remained front and centre on Friday in Ukraine, with more Russian drone attacks and a rising death toll from Moscow’s guided bomb strike on Monday on a former school operating as a humanitarian aid distribution centre.

Two days of talks in Brussels discussed post-war reconstruction, funding for 2027 and security guarantees backed by the Ukrainian government’s western allies.

The meetings brought together officials from the US, UK, France, Germany and the European Union, along with representatives from the World Bank and the US investment group BlackRock, Ukrainian lead negotiator Rustem Umerov wrote in an online post.

“We separately discussed the threats from Russia to Ukraine and all of Europe, as well as joint steps to counter them,” Mr Umerov wrote.

In his television interview, Mr Zelensky said he wants to see tangible results.

“What matters is that it’s clear on paper,” Mr Zelensky said. “The question isn’t dozens of points, but simply an understanding of the outcome: If Russia starts (attacking) again, what will happen? Who will do what, with what means, and when? Those answers have to be clear, above all, to us Ukrainians.”

Mr Zelensky said it was important to maintain bipartisan support for Kyiv in the United States but acknowledged Democrats’ sweeping victories in this week’s midterm elections could have a positive effect on US assistance, including the faster delivery of Patriot missile interceptors that Kyiv says are vital to fend off Russian air strikes.

“I believe our chances of getting additional assistance from the United States may now grow,” he said.

President Donald Trump met on Thursday with Moscow envoy Kirill Dmitriev but declined to give details of what they discussed.

“There’s going to be an agreement, it’s going to be a big agreement and it’s going to involve more than Ukraine,” Mr Trump said, adding that it might include all of Europe.

Mr Trump, who has long boasted he could quickly broker an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, has lately blamed Mr Zelensky for refusing to make concessions to end the conflict. Mr Trump did not meet on Thursday with visiting Ukrainian officials who also were on hand for a ceremony in Washington with first lady Melania Trump.

Mr Trump’s son-in-law and envoy, Jared Kushner, said in a social media message that the goal of the Brussels talks was to “develop practical arrangements that address the security concerns of all sides, reduce the risk of future conflict and create a more stable and predictable security environment”.

The European Union played down expectations for an agreement anytime soon.

“We look forward to seeing it materialise, but there’s a lot of work that needs to go into it,” European Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho said. The commission hosted the first day of talks on Wednesday at its Brussels headquarters.

“Above all, there needs to be a willingness on the side of the one who first started the war, the one who aggressed,” she told reporters, in a reference to Russia. “There’s a very long way to go there because we haven’t seen much movement on that side.”

Ms Pinho welcomed the resumption of talks and what appeared to be “full engagement” on all sides.

The Kremlin on Friday did not comment on Mr Trump’s remarks about a possible deal.

“There are no details,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Mr Peskov said Russia had received no ideas from Europe on security guarantees, but added that any discussion of security between Russia and Ukraine would at some point be “impossible” without Europe’s involvement.

The Kremlin spokesman accused the European side of “persistent indecisiveness and a lack of readiness”, adding that European leaders “haven’t even managed to decide who is authorised to speak on their behalf”.

The death toll from a Russian bomb attack this week on a shelter and a former school now being used as an aid distribution centre rose to 53 after more bodies were recovered from the rubble, Mykhailo Semikin, acting head of the region’s military administration, said in an online post.

Ten powerful guided bombs destroyed the facility at Komyshuvakha, a village in south-east Ukraine. Several dozen people are still believed to be missing after what was one of the deadliest attacks in the region in nearly five years of fighting.

Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure caused extensive power outages in seven regions of the country overnight and on Friday morning, the energy ministry said.

The Kyiv region was hardest hit, with damage forcing continued grid restrictions and crews working on day and night shifts to restore power.

Mr Zelensky said the electricity outages and resulting water cuts were worst in the Kyiv area, where “the challenges are very serious” for the capital’s residents and industry.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 227 attack drones, including 86 jet-powered ones, with strikes reported at 14 locations and falling debris at eight more. Overall, Ukraine’s air defences shot down or suppressed 196 Russian drones overnight into Friday.

In Bulgaria, authorities found and destroyed a Russian Gerbera-2 drone, which was not carrying explosives, in the waters of the country’s northern Black Sea coast, the defence ministry said.

Drones or drone parts have been found numerous times in the sea or on the shore in Bulgaria following the escalation of Russia’s war in Ukraine this year.

Russia’s ministry of defence said on Friday that it shot down 142 Ukrainian drones overnight.