WESTERN PERSPECTIVE
Ukraine not ready to compromise with Russia, says Zelenskiy aide
Ukraine is not ready to compromise with Russia and give up any territory to end the war, a senior Ukrainian official said on Tuesday when asked about U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump's declaration that he could quickly end the conflict.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, told reporters during a visit to Washington that Kyiv would listen to any advice on how to achieve a "just peace" in the war. Russia invaded Ukrainein February 2022.
"But we (are) not ready to go to the compromise for the very important things and values ... independence, freedom, democracy, territorial integrity, sovereignty," he said.
Yermak's visit came ahead of next week's NATO summit in the U.S. capital, where Ukraine is expected to be the main topic of discussion.
Trump, the Republican nominee challenging President Joe Biden, said during a debate between the pair last week that if he is re-elected in November he would quickly solve the war in Ukraine before taking office in January.
He has not offered details of how he would do that, but Reuters reported last week that two key advisers to Trump had presented him with a plan that would involve threatening to cut U.S. assistance if Kyiv did not enter negotiations with Moscow.
Trump said during the debate, however, that he does not accept Russian President Vladimir Putin's terms. Putin has said Russia would end the war if Kyiv agreed to hand over the four regions in the east and south of the country claimed by Moscow.
Asked how Ukraine assesses that Trump would handle the war, Yermak said: "Honest answer: I don't know. Let's see."
Ukraine would lobby a new U.S. administration to continue providing it support, he said, adding that Ukraine had received bipartisan support in Washington and polling showed most Americans still support Ukraine after two years of war.
"It will be ... a decision of the American people. We will respect this choice," Yermak said of the Nov. 5 presidential election.
The United States has provided Ukraine with more than $50 billion worth of military aid since 2022. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday the U.S. will soon announce more than $2.3 billion in new security assistance for Ukraine.
RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE
Ukrainian Su-27s get wiped out at airfield by Russian strike
A Russian missile strike has destroyed five Ukrainian military jets and damaged two more, the Defense Ministry in Moscow reported on Tuesday.
The military released a short video showing the attack and its aftermath filmed from the air. Iskander-M tactical missiles carrying cluster munitions appeared to be used in the strike, judging by multiple simultaneous explosions on the ground.
The target was an airfield southeast of the town of Mirgorod in Ukraine’s Poltava Region. The location in central Ukraine is relatively far from the front line, but is well within the estimated 400km range of Iskander ballistic missiles.
A different version of the same video was circulated on Russian social media on Monday evening, including more footage and markings highlighting the Ukrainian military hardware. Images of fighter jets painted on the ground presumably as decoys for spy satellites can be seen in the clip near actual Ukrainian military assets.
According to the Defense Ministry, the aircraft hit in the strike were Sukhoi Su-27s, which were either stationed at the Mirgorod airfield or were undergoing repairs there.
Reuters/RT