National security advisers from Europe and other allies convened in Kyiv on Saturday to discuss security guarantees and economic support as a US-led diplomatic push to end the nearly 4-year-old war in Ukraine intensifies. President Volodymyr Zelensky, preparing to travel to Paris for a meeting with partners, said work on the peace proposals could now accelerate as Ukraine has shared all documents under discussion with the 18 national security advisers, including those on security guarantees, the AP reports.
"We expect that this further work will now take place in the capitals of European countries as well as Canada, Japan and other representatives of the Coalition of the Willing," Zelensky said, referring to the approximately 30 countries that support Kyiv's effort to end the war with Russia on acceptable terms. "We are not allocating a great deal of time for this process," he added.
- Next: The president said representatives from Ukraine's General Staff and military sector would meet on Monday in Paris, followed by a meeting Tuesday of European leaders, where he said he hoped documents on security guarantees would be finalized. He said there also would be meetings with US representatives in Paris.
- Layered support: In a briefing earlier in the day, a Ukrainian negotiator said Kyiv is coordinating security guarantee plans with European partners that would include a multilateral framework agreement involving Ukrainian forces as the first line of defense, European-led troops deployed in Ukraine, and US "backstop" support.
- International aid: Ukraine's deputy prime minister, Taras Kachka, said international partners have reached consensus on an economic support package of about $800 billion for Ukraine over the next decade. The package, based on calculations by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the European Union, would cover damage compensation, reconstruction, economic stability, and a $200 billion growth "booster" and is tied to Ukraine's EU accession reforms.
- Attacks: The death toll from a Russian missile attack on the city of Kharkiv on Friday increased to two, including a 3-year-old boy, Kharkiv regional head Oleh Syniehubov wrote on Telegram. An overnight Russian drone attack on the Mykolaiv region targeted critical infrastructure and left some communities without electricity, according to regional head Vitalii Kim. He said that engineers spent the night working to restore power and that there were no casualties reported.
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