Ukraine launches drone attack on Russian factory ahead of peace summit
A Ukrainian official said at least four drones launched by the country's security services, or SBU, struck a plant in the city of Arzamas that produced components for the Khinzal 32 and Khinzal 101 missiles.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss operations, said the Plandin plant produces gyroscopic devices, control systems and on-board computers for the missiles and is an 'absolutely legitimate target' because it is part of the Russian military-industrial complex that works for the war against Ukraine.
Russia's defence ministry said its air defences intercepted and destroyed a total of 39 Ukrainian drones overnight and Monday morning over several Russian regions as well as over the Crimean peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014.
The summit, which US President Donald Trump will host in Alaska later this week, sees Mr Putin unwavering on his demands to keep all the Ukrainian territory his forces now occupy but also to prevent Kyiv from joining Nato with the long-term aim to keep the country within Moscow's sphere of influence.
Mr Putin believes he enjoys the advantage on the ground as Ukrainian forces struggle to hold back Russian advances along the 600-mile front.
But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky insists he will never consent to any Russian annexation of Ukrainian territory nor give up his country's bid for Nato membership.
European leaders have rallied behind Ukraine, saying peace in the war-torn nation cannot be resolved without Kyiv.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also spoke with Mr Trump on Sunday, Mr Merz's spokesman said on Monday, but did not disclose the contents of the talks.
Spokesman Steffen Meyer reiterated that the German government 'has always emphasised that borders must not be shifted by force' and that Ukraine should decide its own fate 'independently and autonomously'.
Meanwhile, on the front lines, few Ukrainian soldiers believe there is an end in sight to the war, other than a brief respite before Moscow resumes its attacks with even greater might.
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Reuters
15 minutes ago
- Reuters
Ukraine's allies, after fears of sellout, signal hope for Trump-Putin talks
BERLIN/KYIV, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Ukraine and its European allies on Wednesday signalled hope that U.S. President Donald Trump would push for a ceasefire at talks with Russia's Vladimir Putin without selling out Ukraine's interests or proposing to carve up its territory. European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met Trump in a last-ditch videoconference to lay out red lines ahead of a meeting between Trump and the Russian president in Alaska late on Friday. French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump agreed that Ukraine must be involved in any discussions about ceding land while Zelenskiy said Trump had supported the idea of security guarantees in a post-war settlement. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Trump - and Europe - were willing to crank up the pressure on Russia if Friday's talks proved fruitless. The U.S. president said he rated the meeting "a 10", and his apparent willingness to take his allies' concerns on board, if confirmed, could bring a measure of relief after fears that he and Putin could reach a deal over Europe's head at Ukraine's expense. However, Russia is likely to resist Europe's demands strongly. "President Trump was very clear that the United States wanted to achieve a ceasefire at this meeting in Alaska," Macron said. "The second point on which things were very clear, as expressed by President Trump, is that territories belonging to Ukraine cannot be negotiated and will only be negotiated by the Ukrainian president." Merz, who hosted the virtual meeting, said the principle that borders cannot be changed by force must continue to apply. "If there is no movement on the Russian side in Alaska, then the United States and we Europeans should ... increase the pressure," he said. "President Trump knows this position, he shares it very extensively and therefore I can say: We have had a really exceptionally constructive and good conversation with each other." Trump and Putin are due to discuss how to end the three-and-a-half-year-old conflict, the biggest in Europe since World War Two. Trump has previously said both sides will have to swap land to end fighting that has cost tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions. On a day of intense diplomacy, Zelenskiy flew into Berlin for German-hosted virtual meetings with European leaders and then with Trump. He and the Europeans worry that a land swap could leave Russia with almost a fifth of Ukraine, rewarding it for almost 11 years of efforts to seize Ukrainian land, the last three in all-out war, and embolden Putin to expand further west in the future. Russian forces have made a sharp thrust into eastern Ukraine in recent days in what may be an attempt to increase the pressure on Kyiv to give up land. Zelenskiy said there should be a three-way meeting between himself, Putin and Trump. "I told the U.S. president and all our European colleagues that Putin is bluffing (about his stated wish to end the war). He is trying to apply pressure before the meeting in Alaska along all parts of the Ukrainian front. Russia is trying to show that it can occupy all of Ukraine .." A source familiar with the matter said the call with Trump discussed possible cities that could host a three-way meeting, depending on the outcome of the talks in Alaska. Since announcing the Alaska summit, Trump has played down expectations, saying it would be a "feel-out" meeting. Wary of angering Trump, European leaders have repeatedly said they welcome his efforts while stressing that there should be no deal about Ukraine without Ukraine's participation. Trump's agreement last week to the summit was an abrupt shift after weeks of voicing frustration with Putin for resisting the U.S. peace initiative. Trump said his envoy had made "great progress" at talks in Moscow. A Gallup poll released last week found that 69% of Ukrainians favour a negotiated end to the war as soon as possible. But polls also indicate Ukrainians do not want peace at any cost if that means crushing concessions. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Alexei Fadeev earlier said Moscow's stance had not changed since it was set out by Putin in June 2024. As preconditions for a ceasefire and the start of talks, the Kremlin leader had demanded that Ukraine withdraw its forces from four regions that Russia has claimed as its own but does not fully control, and formally renounce its plans to join NATO. Kyiv swiftly rejected the conditions as tantamount to surrender.
Metro
16 minutes ago
- Metro
Five things we learned from Trump's meeting with Zelensky ahead of Putin summit
US President Donald Trump has wrapped up a virtual meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders two days before his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The call on Wednesday served as the last opportunity – that we know of – for Zelensky and several European heads to speak directly to Trump ahead of his one-on-one with Putin in Alaska on Friday. Zelensky was not invited to join his American and Russian counterparts for the high-profile meeting in Anchorage because it is being held 'at the request of president Putin', White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday. Here are five takeaways from Trump's call with Zelensky and leaders including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and NATO chief Mark Rutte: During a press conference after the call, Zelensky said that 'there should be a ceasefire first, then security guarantees – real security guarantees'. He added that Trump 'expressed his support for that'. The Ukrainian president said that 'sanctions should be strengthened if Russia will not go for a ceasefire in Alaska'. Merz echoed Zelensky's sentiment, saying that a ceasefire must be first in any agreement and that Ukraine needs 'robust guarantees'. A day before the virtual meeting, Trump again pushed for Zelensky to agree to give up territory to Russia as part of a peace deal. Zelensky after the call reaffirmed that he will not surrender the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. He said he has 'no right' to cede his country's land and that 'my position is not changing'. 'Any issue which deals with the territorial integrity of Ukraine cannot be discussed just like that, without looking at our constitution and the will of our people,' Zelensky said. 'As to our principles, as to our territorial integrity, in the end, will be decided on the level of leaders. Without Ukraine (at the table), it's impossible to achieve.' Zelensky insisted that Putin 'definitely does not want peace' and that 'he wants to occupy Ukraine'. 'Putin cannot fool anyone,' said the Ukrainian president. Zelensky thinks that Putin is 'bluffing' about the impact that increased sanctions have had on Russia. 'Sanctions are hitting Russia's war economy hard,' he said. Starmer said that a peace deal must have security guarantees for Ukraine. 'The Prime Minister was clear that our support for Ukraine is unwavering,' said a Downing Street spokesperson. 'International borders must not be changed by force and Ukraine must have robust and credible security guarantees to defend its territorial integrity as part of any deal.' European leaders 'thanked President Trump for his efforts in bringing Putin to the table in pursuit of a ceasefire to end to the ongoing bloodshed', the Downing Street readout continued. European leaders who joined the call shared positive feedback around it and said that the next move lies with Putin. More Trending 'We are united in pushing to end to this terrible war against (Ukraine) and achieve just and lasting peace,' wrote NATO chief Rutte on social media. 'Appreciate (Trump's) leadership and close coordination with Allies. The ball is now in Putin's court.' EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen posted on social media that the meeting was 'very good' that 'we will remain in close coordination – nobody wants peace more than us, a just and lasting peace'. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Home of 'Alligator Alcatraz' says human rights in the UK have worsened MORE: I used to be a Thomas Skinner fan – now he scares me MORE: Can you spot what David Lammy is doing wrong in this picture?
Evening Standard
16 minutes ago
- Evening Standard
FTSE 100 pushes higher as US rate cut bets build
'The discussions between President Trump and President Putin on Friday could also be weighing on the oil price. If they do find a solution to the war in Ukraine, then it could exacerbate the supply glut even further, and the bias could be to the downside for the oil price as we lead up to the talks. For the FTSE 100, this means that big hitters like Shell and BP could come under further downward pressure.'
