Ukraine Seeks Air Defense, Energy Aid as War May Last Another Winter After US-Russia Talks
Summary
- Ukraine said it is seeking an allied support package that includes stronger air defenses, energy assistance, and supplies of US LNG as it prepares for a prolonged war.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he discussed ceasefire negotiations with US and European officials, as well as a 'prosperity plan' for rebuilding Ukraine's economy after the war.
- Russia has demanded that Ukraine cede additional remaining territory in the Donetsk region as a condition for ending the war, but Kyiv has refused, and Zelenskiy said the key territorial issue must be resolved at the leaders' level.
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Ukraine is seeking a support package from its allies, including stronger air defenses, energy assistance and supplies of US liquefied natural gas, as it prepares for the possibility that the war with Russia could last through another winter.
Bloomberg reported on September 6 that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met in Kyiv with Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, negotiating envoys for US President Donald Trump, to discuss ceasefire talks and future support. Senior national security officials from the UK, France and Germany later joined the meeting.
Zelenskiy said the US, Ukraine and Europe agreed to continue talks later at a time and place to be decided. He also stressed the need for a support package that includes stronger air defense systems, energy aid and supplies of US LNG if the war drags on.
Witkoff arrived in Kyiv after earlier holding talks in Moscow with representatives of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He said there had been progress in Moscow and that he brought new ideas to Kyiv. Details of any ceasefire proposal were not disclosed. Zelenskiy added that the discussions also covered a "prosperity plan" for rebuilding Ukraine's economy after the war.
Territory, the central sticking point, remains unresolved. Russia is demanding that Ukraine cede additional remaining territory in the eastern Donetsk region as a condition for ending the war, but Ukraine has rejected the demand.
On the territorial issue, Zelenskiy said it was "a matter to be resolved at the leaders' level." He was reiterating his position that Ukraine cannot give up defensive lines protecting key Donetsk cities that Russian forces have failed to secure over the long term since 2014.
The Kyiv meeting came shortly after the US envoy delegation held more than three hours of talks with Russian officials in Moscow a day earlier. The Kremlin described that meeting as substantive, constructive and very frank.
Trump had earlier said at the White House that Kushner and Witkoff were traveling with "a proposal to end the war," though he did not provide details.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's air defense burden has grown as Russia has continued airstrikes on Kyiv using a new drone equipped with a jet engine. The two sides agreed to temporarily halt attacks targeting each other's capitals over the weekend.
