Ukraine wants UN ‘peace summit’ by end of February

Ukraine wants a peace summit by the end of February, preferably at the United Nations with secretary-general Antonio Guterres as mediator.

Foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said he was “absolutely satisfied” with the results of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the US last week – and that the White House plans to get a Patriot missile battery ready to be operational in the country in under six months. Usually, the training takes up to a year.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Mr Kuleba also said Ukraine will do whatever it can to win the war in 2023.

The end of February would mark a year since Russia’s invasion.

Asked if Russia would be invited to a peace conference, he said it should first face prosecution for war crimes at an international court.

“They can only be invited to this step in this way,” he said.

Mr Kuleba said Mr Guterres “has proven himself to be an efficient mediator and an efficient negotiator, and most importantly as a man of principle and integrity”, adding: “We would welcome his active participation.”

He downplayed comments by Russian authorities that they are ready for negotiations.

“They regularly say that they are ready for negotiations, which is not true, because everything they do on the battlefield proves the opposite,” he said.

Mr Kubela’s comments came after a Ukrainian drone penetrated hundreds of miles through Russian airspace, causing a deadly explosion at the main base for Moscow’s strategic bombers.

Moscow said it had shot the drone down causing it to crash at the Engel’s air base, where three service members were killed. Under its usual policy on incidents inside Russia, Ukraine did not comment.

The base, the main airfield for the bombers that Kyiv says Moscow has used in recent months to attack Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, is hundreds of miles from the Ukrainian frontier. The same planes are also designed to launch nuclear-capable missiles as part of Russia’s long-term strategic deterrent.

The Russian defence ministry said in a statement no planes were damaged, but Russian and Ukrainian social media accounts said several had been destroyed.

As the war entered its 11th month, Russian president Vladimir Putin hosted leaders of other former Soviet states in St Petersburg on Monday for a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States group, which Ukraine has long since quit.

In televised remarks, Mr Putin made no direct reference to the war, while saying threats to the security and stability of the Eurasian region were increasing.

Separately, Russia’s Tass news agency said the country’s security forces killed four Ukrainian saboteurs attempting to enter the Bryansk region from Ukraine.

The report claimed the infiltrators carried explosive materials when they were caught on Sunday.

In Donetsk, partially occupied by Russia, fierce battles continue around the city of Bakhmut, which Russian forces have been trying to seize for weeks to consolidate their grip on Ukraine’s east.