Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a television interview that the proposed deal with the US, providing for Washington's access to Ukrainian rare earth minerals, will not work if Kiev's security guarantees are not provided, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
“If we do not receive security guarantees from the US, I believe that the economic agreement will not work“, Zelensky told NBC. "Everything must be fair," he added.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Zelensky said the proposal "is not in our interest at the moment."
Units of the Ukrainian air defense forces have been activated to repel a Russian drone attack on the Ukrainian capital Kiev, Reuters reported, citing a statement from the Kiev military administration.
"Please take cover in a safe place," said the head of the military administration Timur Tkachenko in “Telegram“
Odessa region was again attacked by drones from the Black Sea, announced the chairman of the Odessa regional military administration Oleg Kiper in the "Telegram" application, quoted by BTA.
The air alert was announced at 9:23 p.m. local and Bulgarian time.
About ten drones are in the Black Sea waters, moving in the direction of Chernomorsk, Zatoka, Sergeevka, local channels write in "Telegram". Five of the drones were aimed at the Ukrainian Danube city of Izmail.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said the country's air defense units had destroyed six Ukrainian drones in less than an hour over the Sea of Azov in southern Ukraine and three more in the southern part of Russia's Krasnodar region, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
A statement from the ministry, published on Telegram, said the incidents occurred yesterday between 7:50 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. Moscow time. The Sea of Azov is located in close proximity to parts of southern Ukraine that are largely occupied by Russian forces.
The Russian-installed governor of these parts of Zaporizhzhia region, which are under Russian control, said the air defenses had shot down a Ukrainian drone over the Azov port of Berdyansk and another over the Sea of Azov. The governor of Krasnodar Krai reported that fragments of the downed drones fell into private homes in the city of Slavyansk in the Kuban, injuring a 4-year-old girl.
The governor of western Russia's Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops have held part of the territory for more than six months after the cross-border incursion, said that Ukrainian drones hit two cars. No injuries were reported.
Turkey, together with the United States and European countries, is discussing a potential ceasefire in Ukraine and ways to prevent a new conflict, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told TRT World on Sunday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, FOKUS reported.
"Turkey is ready to play any role to contribute to peace in Ukraine and the reconstruction of the country. But above all, we need a ceasefire and a long-term and workable peace plan. We are working with the US administration and the Europeans on various aspects of a possible ceasefire and a peace plan - how to achieve it, how to maintain it, how to prevent a new war".
"All these questions are legitimate, they are questions that we and some of our European friends are asking ourselves. How to combine the short-term goal of a ceasefire and long-term strategic concerns, this is the biggest challenge at the moment", Fidan said.
Yulia Navalna, the widow of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, who died a year ago in a Russian prison colony, called for the mobilization of Russians living in exile abroad, Agence France-Presse reported, quoted by BTA. She also expressed hope that the end of Vladimir Putin's regime would come quickly.
"We must go out and protest for those in Russia who cannot do so", Navalna said at a ceremony in Berlin to mark the first anniversary of Alexei Navalny's death.
"Let us be the voice of these people", she added, stressing that those who remain in Russia are afraid to protest because they will end up in prison".
"I want Putin's regime to end as soon as possible so that they can return to Russia and build a normal life there", said Navalna, who has been declared an extremist in Russia and has led Navalny's movement despite being in exile abroad.
“I really dream of returning to Russia“, she added, assuring that she was not giving in to despair.