Zelensky seeks security guarantees before Putin summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he could meet with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, but only after his allies agree security guarantees for Ukraine to deter future Russian attacks once the fighting stops.

In comments released Thursday, he also warned that both sides were preparing for further fighting. Russia was building up troops on the southern front line and Ukraine was test-launching a new long-range cruise missile, he said.

Russia said Thursday that Ukraine did not appear to be interested in "long-term" peace, accusing Kyiv of seeking security guarantees completely incompatible with Moscow's demands.

US President Donald Trump is trying to end Russia's three-and-a-half year invasion of Ukraine through talks with Zelensky and Putin.

While he has upended a years-long Western policy of isolating the Russian leader, he has made little tangible progress towards a peace deal.

"We want to have an understanding of the security guarantees architecture within seven to 10 days," Zelensky said, in comments to reporters released for publication Thursday.

"We need to understand which country will be ready to do what at each specific moment," he added.

A group of allies led by Britain and France are putting together a military coalition to support the guarantees.

Once an outline of the security guarantees is agreed, Trump would like to see a bilateral meeting between Putin and Zelensky, the Ukrainian leader said.

But any meeting with the Russian leader should he held in a "neutral" European country, he added, ruling out any summit in Moscow.

He also rejected the idea of China playing a role in guaranteeing Ukraine's security, citing Beijing's alleged support for Moscow.

Zelensky's comments came as Russia launched hundreds of drones and missiles against Ukraine overnight — the biggest barrage since mid-July — killing one person in the western city of Lviv and wounding many others.

Russian missiles also targeted an American-owned factory complex in town of Mukachevo in the west of Ukraine, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on social media. That attack wounded 19 people, she added.

President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine Andy Hunder said that the factory was "one of the largest American investments in Ukraine.