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.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov chided efforts to work on security arrangements in Ukraine without Moscow's involvement.
'We cannot agree with the fact that it is now proposed to resolve collective security issues without the Russian Federation. This will not work,' Mr Lavrov said, according to state news agency RIA Novosti.
Russia will 'ensure (its) legitimate interests firmly and harshly', Mr Lavrov added at a news conference in Moscow with Jordanian foreign minister Ayman al-Safadi.
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.
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.
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
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'.
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