The first US diplomats and Britain had a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev, which was interrupted by an airstrike, announcing new aid to Ukraine, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
The agency notes that since the talks, there have been no developments on the issue of long-range strikes deep into Russian territory, which Ukraine is desperately pushing for.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who arrived in Kiev at a critical time in Ukraine's fight against Russian invasion, said they had talked about Ukrainian military goals and what they could do to help.
"Among our topics was long-range shelling, but we also talked about a number of other issues. And, as I said at the beginning, I will bring this issue back to Washington for discussion and I will inform the president about what I heard here," Blinken told media representatives in the Ukrainian capital
Zelensky has been pushing for months for Kiev's allies to allow Ukraine to launch missiles supplied by the West, including the US's long-range ATAKMS systems and the UK's "Storm Shadow" deep into Russian territory to limit Moscow's offensive capabilities.
"We are listening carefully, and of course, we are discussing a range of issues, including the military equipment that is needed to defeat Ukraine," Lammy said at a joint press conference with Blinken and Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sibyga.
Britain's top diplomat suggested these talks could continue for a few more weeks. This would disappoint Ukraine, which hopes that the West will quickly thwart fears of an escalation of the conflict, according to Reuters.
Before the start of the press conference, Zelensky was asked if he was optimistic that the US and Great Britain would give the green light for deeper strikes on Russian territory. In response, the head of state joked that it depends on “optimism” of Ukraine's partners, Reuters points out.
"Let us at least count on some firm decisions. For us, this is very important today," Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv. There has been nervousness in Washington and some European capitals that lifting restrictions on Ukraine's long-range strikes could provoke Russia into direct conflict with the West, while being interpreted as an acknowledgment that Ukraine needs more support. to turn the tide of war in his favor.
Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, said Moscow would accept the United States and its allies as a party to the war if they allowed Kiev to use long-range weapons to strike inside Russia. Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden admitted there was room for compromise, saying his government was "working on it now" when asked if the US would lift restrictions on the use of long-range weapons.
Blinken announced in Kiev more than $700 million in aid to Ukraine, with Lammy saying Britain would provide 600 million pounds ($781 million) in return.
Due to a new Russian attack with drones, the electricity has stopped in the Ukrainian city of Konotop, Sumy region, reports UNIAN, quoted by BNR.
According to the mayor of the city, Artyom Seminykhin, civil infrastructure was damaged there, and there were also injured people, and fires broke out in the central part. Later, Seminikhin wrote in "Telegram" that after the attack, two people were in hospital, one of whom was in a coma. Pictures from local channels show a multi-storey apartment building struck. During the last weeks of massive Russian airstrikes throughout the territory of Ukraine, completely civilian objects were repeatedly struck.
According to the military blog DeepState, Russian troops have captured another settlement in the Donetsk region - the village of Lesovka. It is located near Pokrovsk - the main logistics center of the Ukrainian military in the region. Earlier, again, DeepState reported that Russian forces are putting more and more pressure on the Ukrainian troops who occupied part of the Kursk region.
According to the popular Ukrainian blog, a Russian military column has crossed the Seym River, and an attack was made on the populated point of Snagost. A large-scale Russian offensive in Kursk was reported by the head of the special units "Ahmat" Apti Alaudinov, who are fighting on the side of Russia. He claims that Ukrainians have already been pushed out of 10 settlements. After the start of the surprise offensive in the Russian region on August 6, Ukraine claimed to control 100 settlements in it.
Kursk Governor Andrey Smirnov announced that the offensive had caused 85 billion rubles or $934 million in economic damage to the region, with more than 150,000 evacuees.