Nato defence chiefs hold virtual meeting on Ukraine security guarantees
US general Alexus Grynkewich, Nato's supreme allied commander in Europe, will take part in the talks, Mr Dragone said on social platform X.
US president Donald Trump met last Friday with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska, and on Monday hosted Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and prominent European leaders at the White House.
Neither meeting delivered concrete progress.
Last night, a drone strike on Okhtyrka in the Sumy region injured 14 people. A family with wounded children – 5 months, 4 years, and 6 years old – sought assistance after the attack. In Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, a glide bomb strike damaged five apartment buildings, and at… pic.twitter.com/TWRPo4Po6F
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 20, 2025
Mr Trump is trying to steer Mr Putin and Mr Zelensky towards a settlement more than three years after Russia invaded its neighbour, but there are major obstacles.
They include Ukraine's demands for Western-backed military assurances to ensure Russia will not mount another invasion in coming years.
'We need strong security guarantees to ensure a truly secure and lasting peace,' Mr Zelensky said in a Telegram post on Wednesday after Russian missile and drone strikes hit six regions of Ukraine overnight.
Kyiv's European allies are looking to set up a force that could backstop any peace agreement, and a coalition of 30 countries, including European nations, Japan and Australia, have signed up to support the initiative.
Military chiefs are figuring out how that security force might work. The role that the US might play in is unclear. Mr Trump has ruled out sending US troops to help defend Ukraine against Russia.
Russia has repeatedly said that it would not accept Nato troops in Ukraine.
Attacks on civilian areas in Sumy and Odesa overnight into Wednesday injured 15 people, including a family with three small children, Ukrainian authorities said.
Mr Zelensky said the strikes 'only confirm the need for pressure on Moscow, the need to introduce new sanctions and tariffs until diplomacy works to its full potential'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
5 minutes ago
- The Independent
Gabbard slashing intelligence office workforce by 40%, cutting budget by more than $700 million
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference.
The Independent
5 minutes ago
- The Independent
JD Vance booed as he awkwardly greets National Guard at DC's Union Station: ‘We give you hamburgers'
Your support helps us to tell the story Read more Support Now From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more Vice President JD Vance faced boos and derisive chants from protesters as he greeted National Guard troops at Union Station in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. Meeting with the troops at Shake Shack, Vance thanked them, saying, 'You guys bust your ass all day and we give you hamburgers — not a fair trade, but we're grateful for everything you do.' 'Hey, guys, at ease,' Vance said as he arrived at the train station fast food restaurant, where the Guard members were already not standing at attention. 'So, we decided to bring the Secretary of Defense and Stephen Miller,' said Vance to a seemingly unfazed group of National Guard troops as protesters booed the vice president. Speaking to the press, Miller said the White House would 'add thousands more resources' to the effort of cracking down on crime in the nation's capital, calling the protesters 'stupid white hippies' and 'communists.' open image in gallery Stephen Miller, Pete Hegseth and JD Vance visited National Guard troops at a Shake Shack burger joint at Union Station in Washington, D.C. ( AP ) Vance was asked if the White House was set to extend federal control of the Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department, to which the vice president said that 'if the president of the United States thinks that he has to extend this order to ensure that people have access to public safety, that's exactly what he'll do.' He went on to claim that crime statistics 'all over the country' have been 'massively underreported.' When Vance was asked what proof he had that MPD data was inaccurate, he said that the statistics from the Department of Justice and the FBI 'back it up.' 'It's kind of bizarre that we have a bunch of old, primarily white people who are out there protesting the policies that keep people safe when they've never felt danger in their entire lives,' Vance insisted. The vice president also said he was 'highly skeptical' of polling showing that a majority of D.C. residents don't support the presence of the National Guard or the federal takeover of the city's police department, adding that maybe they were 'the same polls that said Kamala Harris would win the popular vote by 10 points.' Protesters frequently drowned out Vance as he spoke, as they chanted 'shame,' 'this is our city,' and 'we want the military out of our streets,' CNN noted. 'You hear these guys outside. They appear to hate the idea that Americans can enjoy their communities,' said Vance, referring to them as 'crazy protesters.' Without evidence, Miller suggested that the protesters were 'not part of the city.' Vance claimed on several occasions that Union Station had been taken over by 'drug addicts,' 'vagrants,' as well as the 'chronically homeless.' open image in gallery Vance claimed on Wednesday that Union Station had been taken over by 'drug addicts,' 'vagrants,' and the 'chronically homeless' ( AP ) 'We have changed so much in nine days, and I thought it important to highlight how great of a space this could be, how easy it could be to actually enjoy something like Union Station if you just had politicians who stopped prioritizing violent criminals over the public citizens who deserve public safety in their own communities,' said Vance. Vance's earlier interaction with the troops in Union Station initially seemed as awkward as his campaign stop to a southern doughnut shop last summer. The then-senator went viral during the 2024 presidential campaign when he seemed to have a hard time interacting with workers at Holt's Sweet Shop in Georgia last August. As Vance thanked a woman behind the counter for allowing them pop in, she told him, 'I don't want to be on film.' 'She doesn't wanna be on film, guys, so just cut her out of anything,' Vance told his entourage. Vance then looked at the doughnut display before saying, "I'm JD Vance, I'm running for vice president, good to see you." 'Okay,' the woman said, seemingly unimpressed. Then he seemed to be unable to pick out a variety of pastries for his entourage. 'We're gonna do two dozen. Just a random assortment of stuff here,' he continues while browsing the donuts in the display cases. 'Everything. A lot of glazed here. Sprinkle stuff. A lot of cinnamon rolls. Just whatever makes sense,' Vance said. As the worker fills up his box of donuts, Vance struggled to make small talk by asking workers behind the counter how long they had been working there. He asked one worker how long the place had been around, and was told it had been in business for four years. 'About four years? Okay,' Vance said. 'Well, we selected this place. I didn't know if it had been here for 20 years or four years. You never know.'
The Independent
5 minutes ago
- The Independent
UK military chief meets US counterparts for Ukraine talks
The head of Britain's armed forces has met with his Nato counterparts as Europe continues to push for security guarantees for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire. Admiral Sir Tony Radakin met senior US defence officials alongside other European military chiefs in Washington DC on Wednesday to discuss military options to secure peace in Ukraine. He later attended a virtual meeting of Nato's military committee, described by its chairman Italian Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone as 'candid'. On Tuesday evening, Admiral Radakin, the chief of the defence staff, had dined with his US counterpart General Dan Caine. The meetings come amid renewed planning for a 'coalition of the willing', led by the UK and France, that would guarantee Kyiv's security in the event of a ceasefire. Earlier in the week, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron co-chaired a meeting of the coalition, in which members of the group also discussed the possibility of further sanctions on Russia. Western security guarantees, strongly resisted by Moscow, are one of the central issues for any peace deal for Ukraine, which fears Russia could otherwise use a ceasefire to regroup and launch a renewed invasion. So far, only the UK and France have indicated they could commit troops to a peacekeeping force in Ukraine. In an interview on Tuesday Donald Trump ruled out an American ground contribution but suggested the US could be willing to provide some form of air support. His special envoy, Steve Witkoff, had earlier suggested the US could offer Ukraine a mutual defence agreement similar to Nato's Article 5, without Kyiv formally joining the alliance. Renewed talks among the 'coalition of the willing' follow last week's summit between Mr Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska as the US president continued to push for an end to a conflict he had promised he could finish on his first day in office. Those talks appeared to result in little progress towards a deal, but sparked concern among some in Europe that Mr Trump could seek to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky into accepting a deal without sufficient security guarantees. On Monday, Sir Keir and Mr Macron joined other European leaders in travelling to Washington in a show of support for Mr Zelensky during a meeting with Mr Trump. Meanwhile, the UK and Russia traded sanctions as London sought to increase the pressure on Moscow to end its invasion. Europe minister Stephen Doughty unveiled sanctions on a series of organisations linked to Kyrgyzstan's financial services sector, saying they had been involved in Kremlin attempts to 'soften the blow of our sanctions by laundering transactions through dodgy crypto networks'. Russia in turn sanctioned 21 individuals, including former Labour MP Denis MacShane, several journalists, and the Government-appointed independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, Jonathan Hall.
