Ukraine’s security chief says he hopes to arrange a visit by President Volodymyr Zelensky to the US “at the earliest suitable date” this month as diplomatic efforts to end the war continue.
Meanwhile, the US has confirmed that its officials are set to meet Russian representatives in Abu Dhabi as part of efforts to end the Ukraine war.
Russia and Ukraine carried out air strikes overnight.
Authorities in Kiev said at least six people were killed in Russian attacks on the city, while Russian officials said at least three were killed in a Ukrainian attack in the Rostov region.
The latest diplomatic moves come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed proposed changes to the controversial 28-point US peace plan.
On Sunday, US and Ukrainian officials met in Geneva to discuss the draft plan, which was criticized by Kiev and Europe’s leaders as being too favorable to Russia.
It appears that Ukraine’s European allies prepared a modified version of the plan after rejecting the parts that supported Russia’s war aims.
“It may now be possible to list the necessary steps to end the war,” Zelensky said on Monday. “Many of the right elements have been included in this framework.”
Ukraine’s national security chief Rustam Umerov said Kiev was “hoping” to organize Zelensky’s visit to the US “at the earliest suitable date in November” to reach an agreement with US President Donald Trump.
A Kremlin official dismissed the amendments as “completely unsound.” However, a US official told the BBC on Tuesday that his team would meet Russian representatives in Abu Dhabi to further discuss the plan.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov – who is not attending the meeting – said the Kremlin had not yet received an “interim” version of the revised plan, adding that Moscow was of the view it should reflect the “spirit and letter” of the Alaska talks between Trump and President Vladimir Putin in August.
Separately, a virtual “coalition of the willing” meeting of Ukraine’s European allies will also take place on Tuesday to discuss developments, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said.
EPAThe latest round of talks comes after overnight attacks between Russia and Ukraine.
Kyiv’s military administration chief, Timur Tkachenko, said a fire broke out in a high-rise residential apartment building in the Dniprovsky district, forcing residents to evacuate.
Emergency services at the scene said 18 people, including three children, had been rescued and the search for victims was ongoing after the fire was brought under control.
According to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, residents of a high-rise apartment building in the city’s central Pechersk district were also evacuated after a fire broke out during the attack.
He said that the upper floors of the building were damaged, but the fire has been extinguished.
Ukrainian air defense units responded to the attack as explosions were heard across Kiev and residents were urged to take shelter in underground car parks and bunkers.
Ukraine’s Energy Ministry also confirmed a “large-scale, joint enemy attack” on the country’s energy infrastructure.
According to Zelensky, 22 missiles and more than 460 drones were launched at Ukraine overnight.
NATO shot down four aircraft over Romania – the third time in four days its planes have been sent to intercept drones over the Ukrainian border. Six Russian drones were also detected in Moldova.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said it had intercepted 249 Ukrainian drones overnight, including over the Black Sea and Kursk.
The death toll from the Ukrainian attack in Russia’s Rostov region has risen to three, after initial reports of one death, officials said.
Two died in hospital, according to Yuri Slyusar, acting governor of Russia’s Rostov region.
One of the deaths was recorded in the city of Taganrog, where Mayor Svetlana Kambulova vowed “necessary response measures”.
Another 10 people were injured in the attacks.
In the southern Krasnodar region, Governor Veniamin Kondratyev described Ukraine’s overnight bombardment as “one of the Kiev regime’s most sustained and massive attacks.”
The proposed peace plan – which was drawn up last month by US and Russian officials – had caused consternation in Ukraine and its European allies, who said it was too friendly to the Kremlin.
But White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt rejected the idea that the Trump administration “is not engaging equally with both sides in this war.”
After talks between the US and Ukraine ended in Geneva, Trump suggested that “something good could happen” but added: “Don’t believe it until you see it.”
As he welcomed the proposed changes, Zelensky said the “main problem” was Putin’s demand for legal recognition of territory taken by Russia.
The counter-proposal – reportedly drafted by the UK, France, and Germany – excluded any recognition of Russian-held territories, increased the size of Ukraine’s permitted army, and left the door open for Ukraine to join NATO.
Russia has consistently demanded Ukraine’s complete withdrawal from the entire eastern Donbass, made up of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Moscow’s forces also control large parts of Crimea and two other regions, Kherson and Zaporizhia.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the final peace plan should make it impossible for Moscow to attack again, and that Russia should “definitely” not rejoin the G8.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today program on Tuesday, he said: “We can’t go back to work as usual… how can you imagine that?”
Thousands of soldiers and tens of thousands of civilians have been killed or injured, and millions have fled their homes since Russia began a full-scale invasion in February 2022.
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