Location at a glance: Ukraine sends negotiators to the USA – new air raids

The Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj sends his chief negotiators to talks about security guarantees for his country attacked by Russia to the USA. Presidential office chief Andrij Jermak and ex-defense minister Rustem Umjerow are to speak to representatives of the government of US President Donald Trump in New York on Friday, as Selenskyj announced in Kiev. On the part of the Americans, Trump’s Russia negotiator Steve Witkoff confirmed the meeting. Meanwhile, the Russian military once overwhelm Ukraine with air strikes. Several dead and more than a dozen injured were reported from Kyiv alone.

“Everyone who works on the security guarantees – on the military, political and economic components of the security guarantees – are included,” said Selenskyj in a video address. One has to make as quick as possible: “The Russians have to see how serious it is for the world and how bad the consequences for Russia will be when the war continues.”

Selenskyj: Moscow does not want to negotiate

The Ukrainian President accused Moscow of not being ready to negotiate and thus breaking a Trump promise. The security guarantees are about protecting Ukraine from the end of the war from a rebuilding of Russian aggression. The United States is planning to participate, but the main military burden is said to be among the Europeans. Russia strictly rejects troops from NATO countries in Ukraine.

Jermak and Umjerow also have the ongoing talks of the warring parties in Istanbul on the Ukrainian side. According to Selenskyjs, you will also explore possible places for a meeting with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin. The Ukrainian representatives were visited in the Gulf state of Qatar on Tuesday, on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia. Talks in Switzerland are planned for Thursday. Putin, however, only wants to speak to a representative of Ukraine if there is a fully negotiated solution for an end to the war.

Foreign Minister WadePhul: New sanctions against Moscow

The German Foreign Minister Johann WadePhul also sees Moscow’s alleged willingness to negotiate skeptical. “I have the greatest doubts that negotiations between Russia and Ukraine occur in the foreseeable future,” he told the news magazine “Focus”. Putin does not move at all despite Trump’s efforts. “I strongly advise to maintain the pressure on Russia. It is more likely that there will be new sanctions against Russia in the near future when Putin is steering into a ceasefire in negotiations,” said WadePhul.

Large air raid on Ukraine

Russia has been waging a war against Ukraine for more than three and a half years. In the evening and at night there were new attacks from the air with combat drones and rockets. According to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, the air defense was deployed in the capital Kiev, but there were several impacts with fatalities. Explosions were also reported from the cities of Sumy in the north as well as Dnipro and Saporischschja in the south.

According to the Ukrainian information, residents were ordered to shelter almost all parts of the country, also far from the front line. Accordingly, the attackers sent several waves of fighting drones and also fired over sound missiles and marching missiles. Several fighter jets from the Russian Air Force are in action.

According to Ukrainian reports, at least three people were killed and 18 injured, including several children. Houses, schools and offices in the entire urban area were damaged, and a five -story building had collapsed. In the morning, Russia then started another wave of air raids – floors were hit in Kiev, while rescue workers searched for buried.

The full extent of the damage was initially not apparent, but the number of victims mentioned increased steadily.

Air alarm also in Russia

At the same time, there was temporarily air alarm in Russia in the Lipezz area because of the flying Ukrainian drones, as the state news agency TASS reported. The Russian military reported the shooting of Ukrainian drones over the areas of Rostow, Belgorod, Smolensk and over the Black Sea Peninsula Crimea. Several airports had to limit the operation to be on the safe side.

Energy systems under fire

According to official Ukrainian information, the Russian air raids had specifically damaged the Ukraine energy system according to official Ukrainian information. In the north Ukrainian area of ​​Sumy, a substation was hit at night, the Ministry of Energy in Kiev said on Telegram. In the eastern Ukrainian area of ​​Poltawa, the guest transport system was significantly damaged. There were more goals in the areas of Tschernihiw, Kharkiw and Donetsk.

The attacks should weaken the Ukrainian energy system before the start of the heating season, it said. Russia had repeatedly targeted energy systems in the past three winters of the war.

However, the Russian attacks could also be an answer to successful Ukrainian attacks against the oil and gas industry in Russia. Through drone hits on Russian refineries, Russia has lost 17 percent of oil processing capacity according to media reports. There is a lack of fuel in many regions.